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11 Lives
With an introduction by Perla Issa
With contributions by: Nadia Fahed, Intisar Hajaj, Yafa Talal El-Masri, Youssef Naanaa, Ruba Rahme, Hanin Mohammad Rashid, Mira Sidawi, Wedad Taha, Salem Yassin, Taha Younis, Mahmoud Mohammad Zeidan
The 11 lives given voice here are unique, each an expression of the myriad displacements that war and occupation have forced upon Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948. At the same time, they form a collective testament of a people driven from their homes and land by colonial occupation. Each story is singular; and each tells the story of all Palestinians.
As Edward Said argued in 1984, the object of Israel’s colonial warfare is not only material—seeking to minimise Palestinian existence as such—but is also a narrative project that aims to obliterate Palestinian history “as possessed of a coherent narrative direction pointed towards self-determination.”
In these pages, Palestinian refugees narrate their own histories. The product of a creative-writing workshop organized by the Institute for Palestine Studies in Lebanon, 11 Lives tells of children’s adventures in the alleyways of refugee camps, of teenage martyrs and ghosts next-door, of an UNRWA teacher’s dismay at the shallowness of her colleagues, and of the love, labour, and land that form the threads of a red keffiyeh.
What unites these 11 stories is “the inadmissible existence of the Palestinian people” highlighted by Said. Their words persist, as one contributor writes, “between the Nakba and the Naksa, throughout defeats and massacres, love affairs and revolutions.” The stories of Palestinians in exile are also open-ended, and will continue to reverberate across borders until Palestine is free.
With contributions by: Nadia Fahed, Intisar Hajaj, Yafa Talal El-Masri, Youssef Naanaa, Ruba Rahme, Hanin Mohammad Rashid, Mira Sidawi, Wedad Taha, Salem Yassin, Taha Younis, Mahmoud Mohammad Zeidan
The 11 lives given voice here are unique, each an expression of the myriad displacements that war and occupation have forced upon Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948. At the same time, they form a collective testament of a people driven from their homes and land by colonial occupation. Each story is singular; and each tells the story of all Palestinians.
As Edward Said argued in 1984, the object of Israel’s colonial warfare is not only material—seeking to minimise Palestinian existence as such—but is also a narrative project that aims to obliterate Palestinian history “as possessed of a coherent narrative direction pointed towards self-determination.”
In these pages, Palestinian refugees narrate their own histories. The product of a creative-writing workshop organized by the Institute for Palestine Studies in Lebanon, 11 Lives tells of children’s adventures in the alleyways of refugee camps, of teenage martyrs and ghosts next-door, of an UNRWA teacher’s dismay at the shallowness of her colleagues, and of the love, labour, and land that form the threads of a red keffiyeh.
What unites these 11 stories is “the inadmissible existence of the Palestinian people” highlighted by Said. Their words persist, as one contributor writes, “between the Nakba and the Naksa, throughout defeats and massacres, love affairs and revolutions.” The stories of Palestinians in exile are also open-ended, and will continue to reverberate across borders until Palestine is free.
- GenresNonfiction
247 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
About the author
Muhammad Ali Khalidi
6 books3 followers Muhammad Ali Khalidi is a Palestinian philosopher. He earns his Ph.D., Philosophy, from Columbia University and
M.A., Philosophy, from Columbia University
B.S., Physics, from American University of Beirut.
He is a Presidential Professor of Philosophy at City
University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Before that, he was Professor of Philosophy at York University in Toronto. He has also taught at the American University of Beirut, University of Nevada at Reno, and (as a post-doc) at the University of Chicago and Columbia University.
His main areas of research are in the philosophy of science (with an emphasis on cognitive science) and the philosophy of mind. He has been particularly focused on analyzing mental phenomena such as: memory, concepts, and innateness, and what role they play in contemporary cognitive science. He is also interested in scientific classification schemes and in the means of distinguishing artificial categories from real ones in both the natural and social sciences.
M.A., Philosophy, from Columbia University
B.S., Physics, from American University of Beirut.
He is a Presidential Professor of Philosophy at City
University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Before that, he was Professor of Philosophy at York University in Toronto. He has also taught at the American University of Beirut, University of Nevada at Reno, and (as a post-doc) at the University of Chicago and Columbia University.
His main areas of research are in the philosophy of science (with an emphasis on cognitive science) and the philosophy of mind. He has been particularly focused on analyzing mental phenomena such as: memory, concepts, and innateness, and what role they play in contemporary cognitive science. He is also interested in scientific classification schemes and in the means of distinguishing artificial categories from real ones in both the natural and social sciences.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 11, 2024
An insider look at the reality of Palestinian life due to Israel's attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. Before anyone else, the younger generations of Palestinians need to read this to understand their own lived reality.
November 15, 2023
It's very difficult to read, even though it's a short book, not because of the language but because of the gravity of the stories. I could only read 1 story at a time. The stories really hit you. Thank you for translating them so beautifully.
January 26, 2024
“Since the 1948 Nakba, the Palestinian experience has been one of continuous fragmentation and dispersal. . . Just as snowflakes, which originate in the same cloud, gain unique shapes and sizes as they tumble through the air, swirling and spiralling, so do Palestinians take on unique journeys as they face various political, legal and economic realities. In that sense, each Palestinian story is unique, and each story tells the story of all Palestinians.”
A collection of 11 autobiographical essays written by Palestinian refugees narrating their experiences beginning in childhood. These stories bring different perspectives on the collective grief and torment of the narrators’ communities brought on by war, exile, and colonial occupation.
It was very affecting reading these stories from the perspective of child narrators as we witness innocence and loss of innocence, and as we read about how tragedy and multiple displacements are ever-present in their lives. We read stories about their communities and families and how the roots of their struggles have began generations before, yet are worsened by on-going genocide.
All the while, amidst these deeply personal stories, we read about the love in their communities, how they come together to survive, and how they persist amidst such horrors.
A collection of 11 autobiographical essays written by Palestinian refugees narrating their experiences beginning in childhood. These stories bring different perspectives on the collective grief and torment of the narrators’ communities brought on by war, exile, and colonial occupation.
It was very affecting reading these stories from the perspective of child narrators as we witness innocence and loss of innocence, and as we read about how tragedy and multiple displacements are ever-present in their lives. We read stories about their communities and families and how the roots of their struggles have began generations before, yet are worsened by on-going genocide.
All the while, amidst these deeply personal stories, we read about the love in their communities, how they come together to survive, and how they persist amidst such horrors.
February 5, 2025
Just like a documentary, record some voices, don't judge their writing, don't question their honesty, even if some memories are distorted by excessive pain (as Primo Levi said), respect their memories and their stories
August 30, 2023
Just sad.
January 12, 2024
Favourite stories:
Shorter and Longer than a Winter’s Cold Spell
And the Dream Goes On
A Migration in Two Exiles
Amazing blend of perspectives.
Shorter and Longer than a Winter’s Cold Spell
And the Dream Goes On
A Migration in Two Exiles
Amazing blend of perspectives.
September 23, 2024
A moving and touching collection of stories.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews