Refugees in Our Own Land : Chronicles from a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem

"For four days, I haven't been able to write. The headaches, the nausea, the pain in my eyes finally caught up with me ... I couldn't write, just as I couldn't keep any food down, or escape the persistent nightmares whenever I tried to sleep. I've been dreaming of friends getting injured, of blood, and of people seeking shelter from falling bombs. Even when we sleep, there is no escape." Muna Hamzeh This remarkable book is a gripping eyewitness account of what it is like to live in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada ? the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem, one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world. The first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. "Refugees in Our Own Land" is a rare insider's look into the hearts and minds of Palestinian refugees. Contents......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Preface......Page 6 PART ONE......Page 10 Palestinian Satellite, 3......Page 12 PART TWO......Page 80 73......Page 82 Um Subhi 77-8......Page 86 curfew [Gulf War], 81......Page 90 blockade [ 86-8......Page 95 Zuhra, neighbour 89......Page 98 withdrawal from Palestinian areas, 94-5......Page 103 in West Bank, 97......Page 106 attachment to memory of, 101-3......Page 110 twinning agreements with French towns 104-7......Page 113 108......Page 117 identification with, 111-14......Page 120 services in camps, 115......Page 124 118......Page 127 Yusra, neighbour 121......Page 130 Palestine, anniversary of declaration of independence 125-7......Page 134 Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque, 128......Page 137 and divorce, 133-4......Page 142 private sales of, 136-7......Page 145 mourning, rituals of 139-40......Page 148 142......Page 151 150......Page 159 Index......Page 170 Nader, neighbour 112-14......Page 121 curfews, 143......Page 152 110......Page 119 Manal, neighbour 109......Page 118 Marianna, 14......Page 23 infrastructure, 33-4......Page 42 clashes in, 49......Page 58 houses, 82......Page 91 84......Page 93 88......Page 97 bombardments, 51-3......Page 60 Hroub, Mohammad, al-, killed 56......Page 65 57......Page 66 13-14......Page 22 hospitals, visits to wounded in 16-17......Page 25 visit to al-Aqsa mosque, 28-9......Page 37 6-7......Page 15 support for Intifada, 20......Page 29 coverage of clashes, 30......Page 39 cut by blockades, 91-2......Page 100 houses, 92......Page 101 access to, 32......Page 41 35......Page 44 coverage of clashes, 7......Page 16 Marianna, 26......Page 35 Palestinian Satellite, 8......Page 17 visit to al-Aqsa mosque, 37......Page 46 45......Page 54 Fischer, Dr Harry, funeral 62-3......Page 71 65......Page 74 149......Page 158 Marianna, 70......Page 79 Tamari, Salah 126......Page 135 Umm Safa, Israeli settler attack on 23-4......Page 32 22......Page 31 independent, 27-8......Page 36 Silwad, Israeli settler attack on 39......Page 48 Swedish, 52......Page 61 bombed, 63......Page 72 64......Page 73 Bethlehem 2000 10-11......Page 19 Hizbullah operation in, 18......Page 27 march in Nablus, 11-12......Page 20 48......Page 57 Zones, 145-6......Page 154 traffic lights, 153......Page 162 Palestinian, 158......Page 167 Zones, 95-6......Page 104 access to, 41......Page 50 Yousef, neighbour 113......Page 122 114......Page 123 refugees from, 21......Page 30 24......Page 33 38......Page 47 66......Page 75 Palestine Report [weekly] 147......Page 156 access to, 131-2......Page 140 Washington, DC, life in 74......Page 83 Ghrouze, Bassam, killed 116-17......Page 125 Israeli settler attacks in, 31......Page 40 119......Page 128 access to, 4......Page 13 47-8......Page 56 Washington, departure for 67-70......Page 76 5......Page 14 141......Page 150 Yatom, Dani, Israeli chief of staff 44......Page 53 83......Page 92 a reaction to humiliation, 79......Page 88 lack of, 40......Page 49 number of casualties, 53......Page 62 Halayka, Yazan, killed 58......Page 67 stagnation, of life under occupation 98-9......Page 107 146-7......Page 155 among refugees, 50......Page 59 Rjoub, Jibril 156......Page 165 telephone connections, severed 34......Page 43 105......Page 114 12-13......Page 21 87......Page 96 46......Page 55 Zones, 25......Page 34 economy, 59......Page 68 blockaded by Israel, 43......Page 52 lack of, 100......Page 109 15......Page 24 unmarried, 134-5......Page 143 employment for, 132......Page 141 Hanan, and honor of women 123-4......Page 132 blockade [ 90-2......Page 99 Hizbullah operation in, 19......Page 28 Israel TV, 42......Page 51 Nabieh, friend 137-8......Page 146 role for, 36......Page 45 96......Page 105 75......Page 84 effect on Israeli public, 68......Page 77 78......Page 87 tank attack on, 54-8......Page 63 Oslo Peace Accord 99-100......Page 108 address to refugees, 159-60......Page 168 148-9......Page 157 support for Intifada, 29-30......Page 38 80......Page 89 access to, 129......Page 138 services in camps, 151......Page 160 Nasser, wounded 17......Page 26 American citizenship, 76......Page 85 144......Page 153 safety within, 9......Page 18 safety within, 140-1......Page 149 154......Page 163 106......Page 115 schools, 120......Page 129 education of, 122-3......Page 131 Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque, 130......Page 139 'Muna Hamzeh has given us a unique insight into women's everyday life during the Al Aqsa Intifada - anger, sorrow, frustration fly off every page. This book is a slice of living history which will now never be forgotten.' Victoria Brittain'Always compelling, [Hamzeh's writing] movingly conveys these tragedies, and how, in a tight-knit society on a small patch of land, they are all inter-connected.' The Financial Times The crisis in the Middle East dominates headlines. But what do we know about the people who are suffering? This remarkable book is a gripping eyewitness account of what it is like to live as a Palestinian - as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada - the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem - one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world.Immediately accessible and fully up-to-date, the first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best-equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle. The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. Refugees in Our Own Land is a rare insider's look into the hearts and minds of Palestinian refugees. It is a tribute to the bravery of the Palestinian people, and a wake-up call to the world that has ignored so much of their struggle and their suffering

"For four days, I haven't been able to write. The headaches, the nausea, the pain in my eyes finally caught up with me ... I couldn't write, just as I couldn't keep any food down, or escape the persistent nightmares whenever I tried to sleep. I've been dreaming of friends getting injured, of blood, and of people seeking shelter from falling bombs. Even when we sleep, there is no escape." Muna HamzehThis remarkable book is a gripping eyewitness account of what it is like to live in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem, one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world. The first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. "Refugees in Our Own Land" is a rare insider's look into the hearts and minds of Palestinian refugees.

Financial Times

Always compelling, Hamzeh's writing movingly conveys the tragedies (in the camp, and how, in a tight-knit society on a small patch of land, they are all inter-connected.

This book is an eye-witness account of what it is like to live in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada - the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem, - one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world. Immediately accessible and fully up-to-date, the first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on a daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle. The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. "Refugees in Our Own Land: Chronicles from a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem" is a rare insider's look into the heart and minds of Palestinian refugees. It is a tribute to the bravery of the Palestinian people, and a wake-up call to the world that has ignored so much of their struggle and their suffering. This book is an eye-witness account of what it is like to live in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada - the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem, - one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world. Immediately accessible and fully up-to-date, the first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on a daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle. The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. -- Publisher description This is a gripping account of what it is like to live as a Palestinian - as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada - the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem - one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world.

The book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best-equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle.

Refugees in Our Own Land is a look into the hearts and minds of Palestinian refugees. It is a tribute to the bravery of the Palestinian people, and a wake-up call to the world that has ignored so much of their struggle and their suffering. "Refugees in our Own Land is a gripping eye-witness account of what life is like in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. The first part comprises the diary Muna Hamzeh kept between October and December 2000. Through her own journal entries she tells the harrowing story of the second Intifada, as it happens. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best-equipped armies of the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This immediately accessible and deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle."