Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Palestinian Exile

Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Cultures

by Diana Allan

This “carefully crafted ethnography” of a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut reframes the relationship between home and homeland (Journal of Palestinian Studies).More than half a century after 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homeland, the popular conception of Palestinian refugees still emphasizes a way of life that ended abruptly with “the catastrophe” of 1948. And their camps—inhabited now for four generations—are seen as mere zones of waiting. But what would it mean for the generations born in exile to return to a place they never left? Diana Allan addresses this question in her provocative examination of everyday life in Shatila, a refugee camp in Beirut. Challenging common assumptions about Palestinian identity and nationalist politics, Diana Allan provides an immersive account of camp experience, tracking how residents relate across generations, cope with poverty and marginalization, and plan for the future. In so doing, she reveals how refugees are pushing back against identities rooted in a purely nationalist discourse—and forging a distinct Palestinian identity in the crucible of local pressures. This groundbreaking book offers a richly nuanced account of Palestinian exile, and presents new possibilities for the future of the community.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2013

Reviews

[Pam]

I read this book after returning from Lebanon, where I met visited the Shatila refugee camp and met several of its residents. I plan to return in November, and will live in Shatila for two weeks. Thus, this book filled an important niche for me. There are many books that offer an overview of Lebanon, and some that focus on the Palestinians there, but this is the only one I have found that looks in personal depth at the dynamics of camp life from social, political and economic points of view. My only complaint is that the author periodically lapses into incredibly dense "academia-speak," and I had to simple "glide" over those sections with a roll of the eyes. The most valuable takeaway, for me, was to be careful not to impose my views as an activist, and to be open to the pragmatic realities of refugees who were born outside of Palestine and thus have ties to Lebanon at least as strong as to their ancestors' homeland.

[Matea Polojac]

This is an ethnography of the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon, where the right of return of Palestinians is used by the Lebanese government to justify not providing necessities, as this would oppose that their stay is ‘temporary’.

I understand and appreciate what this book is doing (showcasing daily life in the camp and the complex political realities). I think it’s important and I’m happy I read it but my god this was maybe the driest writing I’ve read in my MA so far. I just hate when academics write in ways that are so dense, I think that it makes their books inaccessible too.

[Nadeen]

Discusses Palestinian exile and homeland from the perspective of those living in Shatila, a refugee camp in Lebanon.