"History Never Dies"
“We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return…….the old will die and the young will forget.” Ben Gurion in 1948---The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe.
Ethnic Cleansing was always the plan from the beginning.
Ben Gurion did not know the resilience of the Palestinian people. Nor could he have known not only would the following generations remember, but they would continue the resistance of their parents and grandparents.
Ahmed is 21 years old and a 3rd generation Palestinian refugee. His grandfather was displaced from his village, Iraq Al-Manshiyya (Israel changed the name to Kiryat Gat) in 1948. Iraq Al-Manshiyya is located about 32 miles north of Gaza and was one of the last villages to be taken by Israeli forces in Al-Nakba. The British Mandate has records from 1931 that state this village had a population of 1,347 Muslims living in 299 houses. In 1941, the Jewish National Fund acquired some land from this village and built a kibbutz. By 1945 the population was 2,220 Muslims and 210 Jews. The majority of the land was used by the Palestinians for farming and this area was going to be given to the Arabs in the 1947 partition plan. By 1952, Israeli forces took control of this region and the Arab inhabitants were completely expelled.
While many Palestinians sought refuge in surrounding Arab countries like Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, at the expulsion, Ahmed’s grandfather was part of a group of only a few hundred Palestinians who made their way to Kuwait. Palestinians continued to immigrate there into the early 50’s. This was not easy and easy task as many of them traveled to Kuwait via the Underground Railroad which ran from the West Bank to Kuwait. Some came to Iraq and then walked from Basra across the desert to Kuwait, and others went by boats with smugglers. Many died in the desert heat or drowned. Those who survived worked and made lives for themselves and their families in Kuwait. This is where Ahmed’s father was born.
In 1991 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Kuwait expelled its Palestinian population. Ahmed’s family became refugees again and came to Jordan. Ahmed’s mother also came from a Palestinian refugee family from the area called Tubas which is now in the West Bank. She grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp here in Jordan, close to Amman.
Ahmed has never been to Palestine or seen where his family came from, but he deeply longs to. His family passed down their strong Palestinian heritage to him, which one day, he plans to also pass on to his own children. Ahmed said he is so thankful for the country of Jordan and all they have done for the Palestinians, but if he was given the choice to live his life in Jordan or go to Palestine, he would go to Palestine and start his life from nothing. In Ahmed’s words, he is willing to die for the land of Palestine.
This is something we as Westerners, from our colonial background, can never fully understand. Palestinians, even 3 generations later who have never even seen the land, have a deep longing in their heart to go there, to breathe the air, to touch the dirt and to stand on this sacred and holy land.
Many of the refugees like Ahmed’s family, were given Jordanian citizenship, healthcare, and all the privileges enjoyed by those who are citizens. Even with all of this, Ahmed’s ID card still identifies him as a refugee with the words, “Refugee of the Capitol” on his ID card. This still sets him apart as Palestinian and is a constant reminder of his heritage. Ahmed and all of the Palestinians in Jordan like him belong to a land they have never been to. If they want to visit, they must take permission from Israel and it is most likely he will be denied.
For the younger generation of Palestinians living in Jordan, the current genocide on Gaza has strengthened their nationalism. Their family stories have all been passed down to them and they haven’t forgotten Al-Nakba, Al-Naksa, and all that has transpired since. This generation, like Gen Z all over the world, have always had information at their fingertips, and they are a force to be reckoned with.
Ahmed has lost 18 family members in Gaza during this war and he believes Israel will never succeed in destroying all of Hamas like it intends to. According to Ahmed, even if Israel gets rid of Hamas, the next generation will rise up and continue to resist. As long as Palestinian lives matters less, as long as their human rights are violated, as long as they are treated without dignity and as animals, there will always be another Hamas.
“Until Palestine is truly free, there will be no peace in the surrounding lands,” said Ahmed as he finished his cigarette and put it out in the coffee cup. I nod in agreement and hope for him, that in this generation, may they see real freedom from the chains of brutal military occupation.
*In searching for some historical records on Iraq Al-Manshiyya, I found an article from the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, about the government removing records of Al-Nakba from the Israeli archives. This is common knowledge, but Ahmed’s family’s village is one of them and so I was able to find pictures of the expulsion of Iraq Al-Manshiyya.
