The reading is selected from The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile, a memoir by Fawaz Turki, who was born in 1940 in Haifa, then part of British Mandate Palestine, now Israel. The book was written in 1972. He left as a child in the exodus of 1948 known as the nakba (disaster) by Palestinians. He grew up in Beirut, and studied at universities in England and Australia. In the 1970s he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. The last I knew, he was living in Washington, D.C. He has written numerous articles and two other books, Soul in Exile: Lives of a Palestinian Revolutionary and Exile's Return: The Making of a Palestinian-American (about his return visit to Palestine after the beginning of the implementation of the Oslo agreement.)
The preface and chapter describe his perspective on what has happened to him, and his life during the 1950s in the Palestinian refugee camps that ring Beirut, the wealthy, cosmopolitan, Westernized capital of Lebanon.
Please come to class prepared to discuss the reading, which you will have written about already.
A few informational notes:
· ben sharmouta (on p. 47 and elsewhere) means son of a whore.
· UNRWA (p. 58), to refresh your memory, is the United Nation Relief and Works Agency, which was founded to deal with the Palestinian refugees, meaning that they have provided aid, initially in the form of shelter (tents), food rations, and eventually, education for younger children.
· The jellabiya (p. 68) is a long robe worn by many men in the Middle East;
· the hatta or kuffiyeh (spelled various ways) is the head covering many men wear, kept in place with the ighal, which is a kind of cord to keep it in place.
Questions (some from your forum essay). Be prepared to discuss these:
· What did it mean for Turki to be a refugee on a practical level? Apart from the obvious---not being in his home country and unable to return---how did being a refugee affect the tangible circumstances of his life?
· Later in the book he says: "...try as you will, try as often as you might, to escape your reality, your identity, your Self, yet it follows you every hour, every day of your life---that incessant logic showing you how, with your history deflected from its preordained course, there is no rest for you until you have regained that intangible and exquisite tool which men and women use to identify themselves as spiritual beings and of which you have been robbed. Only then will you begin to become concerned with the down-to-earth issues that characterize the existence of other people." How does this issue of identity manifest itself in his life in the camp?
· The young Turki is a contradictory, confused and confusing character. Identify where these are revealed in the chapter.
· What kind of relations between Palestinians and Israelis and/or Jews, are depicted here?
· How does he feel about Americans, Nasser, other Arabs? What informs his attitudes?
· Why did Palestinian refugees refuse to settle in neighboring Arab countries, according to Turki?
· Based on your reading of this memoir, how should we evaluate accounts such as this as sources for history?
Introduction
to
the
reading:
The
reading
is
selected
from
The
Disinherited:
Journal
of
a
Palestinian
Exile
,
a
memoir
by
Fawaz
Turki,
who
was
born
in
1940
in
Haifa,
then
part
of
British
Mandate
Palestine,
now
Israel.
The
book
was
written
in
1972.
He
left
as
a
child
in
the
exodus
of
1948
known
as
the
nakba
(disaster)
by
Palestinians.
He
grew
up
in
Beirut,
and
studied
at
universities
in
England
and
Australia.
In
the
1970s
he
moved
to
Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
The
last
I
knew,
he
was
living
in
Washington,
D.C.
He
has
written
numerous
articles
and
two
other
books,
Soul
in
Exile:
Lives
of
a
Palestinian
Revolutionary
and
Exile's
Return:
The
Making
of
a
Palestinian-American
(about
his
return
visit
to
Palestine
after
the
beginning
of
the
implementation
of
the
Oslo
agreement.)
The
preface
and
chapter
describe
his
perspective
on
what
has
happened
to
him,
and
his
life
during
the
1950s
in
the
Palestinian
refugee
camps
that
ring
Beirut,
the
wealthy,
cosmopolitan,
Westernized
capital
of
Lebanon.
Please
come
to
class
prepared
to
discuss
the
reading,
which
you
will
have
written
about
already.
A
few
informational
notes
:
·
ben
sharmouta
(on
p.
47
and
elsewhere)
means
son
of
a
whore.
·
UNRWA
(p.
58),
to
refresh
your
memory,
is
the
United
Nation
Relief
and
Works
Agency,
which
was
founded
to
deal
with
the
Palestinian
refugees,
meaning
that
they
have
provided
aid,
initially
in
the
form
of
shelter
(tents),
food
rations,
and
eventually,
education
for
younger
children.
·
The
jellabiya
(p.
68)
is
a
long
robe
worn
by
many
men
in
the
Middle
East;
·
the
hatta
or
kuffiyeh
(spelled
various
ways)
is
the
head
covering
many
men
wear,
kept
in
place
with
the
ighal
,
which
is
a
kind
of
cord
to
keep
it
in
place.
Questions
(some
from
your
forum
essay).
Be
prepared
to
discuss
these:
•
What
did
it
mean
for
Turki
to
be
a
refugee
on
a
practical
level
?
Apart
from
the
obvious---not
being
in
his
home
country
and
unable
to
return---
how
did
being
a
refugee
affect
the
tangible
circumstances
of
his
life?
•
Later
in
the
book
he
says:
"...try
as
you
will,
try
as
often
as
you
might,
to
escape
your
reality,
your
identity,
your
Self,
yet
it
follows
you
every
hour,
every
day
of
your
life---that
incessant
logic
showing
you
how,
with
your
history
deflected
from
its
preordained
course,
there
is
no
rest
for
you
until
you
have
regained
that
intangible
and
exquisite
tool
which
men
and
women
use
to
identify
themselves
as
spiritual
beings
and
of
which
you
have
been
robbed.
Only
then
will
you
begin
to
become
concerned
with
the
down-to-earth
issues
that
characterize
the
existence
of
other
people."
How
does
this
issue
of
identity
manifest
itself
in
his
life
in
the
camp
?
•
The
young
Turki
is
a
contradictory,
confused
and
confusing
character.
Identify
where
these
are
revealed
in
the
chapter.
•
What
kind
of
relations
between
Palestinians
and
Israelis
and/or
Jews,
are
depicted
here
?
•
How
does
he
feel
about
Americans,
Nasser,
other
Arabs?
What
informs
his
attitudes
?
•
Why
did
Palestinian
refugees
refuse
to
settle
in
neighboring
Arab
countries,
according
to
Turki
?
•
Based
on
your
reading
of
this
memoir,
how
should
we
evaluate
accounts
such
as
this
as
sources
for
history?
assassinood
instruction.docx
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