Children of Catastrophe: Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America

by Jamal K. Kanj

This book tells the remarkable story of a Palestinian refugee, following his journey from childhood in the Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, becoming a member of the PLO, through to eventual emigration, a new life as an engineer in the United States, and a return trip to historic Palestine.A great deal has been written over the years addressing the Palestine Israel conflict, and the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. However, few works on the subject really present the personal aspect: What is it like to be a refugee? What propels a decent human being to take up arms, to become a freedom fighter or a terrorist Running parallel to Kanj 's personal narrative, the book also documents the story of Nahr El Bared itself: the story of a refugee camp that grew from an initial clump of muddy UN tents to become a vibrant trading centre in north Lebanon, before its eventual destruction at the hands of the Lebanese army as they battled with militants from the Fatah Al Islam group in the summer of 2007. Throughout it all, the spirit of the remarkable people of the camp shines through, and the book provides a moving testament to how refugees in Lebanon have managed to persist in their struggle for their right to return, as well as survive socially, economically and politically despite more than sixty years of dispossession, war and repression.

Genres: Nonfiction, Book Club, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2010

Reviews

[Michelle Corasanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children of Catastrophe by Jamal Kanj should be required reading for all. Jamal was a descendant of Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their homes in 1948. In 1958, Jamal came into the world in the refugee camp Nahr el Bared in Northern Lebanon. He was his parents’ first born in a room and not a tent. The story tells of the crude structures that gradually replaced the tents. I hope one day his book will become a movie so that people can see what it was like to be a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon.

As I read his book, I was just amazed at how people can be so cruel. And how instead of celebrating differences and working together to advance humanity, we focus on differences and destroy it. At the end of the day, we all belong to the human race. We all want the same things for our children: a safe environment, a place to call home with a roof over our heads, education, freedom, love, happiness, a future, a world in which our children’s worth isn’t judged on their religion, race, color of skin or any other dividing factor and their basic needs are met.

As a Jewish American, I was taught that after the Holocaust, the Jews found a “land without a people for a people without a land” and made the desert bloom. When I first went to Israel, an Israeli told me that there were 21 Arab countries and the Palestinians needed to choose one as they didn’t want them in Israel. I had no idea who he was talking about. I thought Palestinian was a synonym for Israeli and referred to the Jews who were in Israel before 1948. I thought it was like Persian and Iranian. How would I know otherwise when I was indoctrinated that we Jews found a land without a people? All we learned was how Israel was the safe-haven for Jews. We never understood what Zionism meant to the Palestinians. Our entitlement to the land was inculcated into our heads because of the Holocaust even though Palestinians weren’t responsible for the Holocaust. We need to see what Zionism meant to Jamal and his people, the Palestinians. How one people’s dream can be another people’s nightmare. So often we only think of our own desires and not how what we want affects others. How would we feel if a non-Jewish religious group decides to claim a US state for themselves, banishing Jews from that state and telling us to choose from any of the other 50 US States for our new home?

Despite the overwhelming hardships, what I found so incredible was how his family could persevere as a unit under such conditions. Here in the US with the divorce rate is said to be around 50%, in a culture of instant satisfaction, people jump ship when things get difficult. I doubt many couples would remain together when faced with the hardships that Jamal’s parents faced and yet, through thick and thin, his family lived for each other. They faced everything as a solid unit that could not be broken.

It also amazes me how resourceful children must become to survive. Although Jamal came into the world with the material bare minimum, a refugee in a country that did not want his kind, in anything but a stable political environment, throughout his life he had the love and encouragement of a unshakeable family that would do anything for each other. Where drinking and drugs are prevalent in our American society among our youth, Jamal and his friends were fighting to survive. I also noticed no sense of entitlement or laziness that we experience in the US among many of our youth. Instead I could see the deep desire to improve not only one’s own life, but the lives of one’s family members as well.

I stand in awe of the distance Jamal had to transverse as a refugee to make a new life in America becoming a registered professional engineer in California with graduate and post graduate degrees in civil engineering, management and executive leadership.

I also think it’s important to read this story, not just as a Palestinian, but as a Muslim. With the prevalent Islamaphobia in America, I think it’s important not to only focus on the extreme cases as we find those in every religion and culture. It is more important to see how other Muslims face injustice and overcome adversity. In the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared, the brutal environment motivated parents to stress the power of education to excel and succeed in life.

We need to hear these stories because awareness leads to understanding and understanding leads to change. By reading his story, we become aware of ourselves as human beings and the horrors we create for others. We cannot afford to be ignorant to the truth, holding onto fallacies. In the words of Stephen Hawkins, “The greatest enemy of knowledge isn’t ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” Through awareness we can put an end to these great injustices committed against the Palestinians. No one lives in peace when we condemn others to misery.

Michelle Cohen Corasanti, author of The Almond Tree

[JKK]

A great deal has been written over the years on the Palestine-Israel conflict, and the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. However, few works on the subject really present the personal aspect: What is it like to be a refugee? What propels a decent human being to take up arms, to become a freedom fighter or a "terrorist?"

This book reveals the story of my journey from childhood in Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, becoming a PLO activist, eventual emigration, a new life as an engineer in the United States, and a 'return' trip to historic Palestine.

Running parallel to the personal narrative, the book also documents the story of Nahr El Bared itself: the story of a refugee camp that grew from an initial clump of muddy UN tents to become a vibrant trading centre in north Lebanon, before its eventual destruction at the hands of the Lebanese army as they battled with militants from Fatah Al Islam group in the summer of 2007.

Throughout it all, the spirit of the remarkable people of the camp shines through, and the book provides a moving testament to how refugees in Lebanon have managed to persist in their struggle for their "right to return", as well as survive socially, economically and politically despite more than sixty two years of dispossession, war and repression.

The book illustrates how refugees are able to remain uniquely Palestinians, and to survive socially, economically, and politically during the hypothetically “temporary” resident status in Lebanon. The refugees have indefatigably remained part of a nation, without the state. Israeli writer Danny Rubinstein said it best when describing the Palestinians in his book:

Every people in the world lives in a place. For Palestinians, the place lives in them.

My promise is a story that will move you emotionally and challenge you intellectually. It is heartrending, yet joyful. In this book, I invite you to a journey into the daily life of a refugee to discover hope and the “place” that lives inside every Palestinian.

www.jamalkanj.com

[Jeffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on the Mideast conflict I have read so far. Kanj’s strength lies in his sparse prose, his hard research, his intimate heart-rending stories, but most of all, his strength lies in his very blunt honesty. I highly recommend this book not just to Jews or Muslims or Arabs, but to all American citizens, because like it or not, we are heavily involved, and it’s to our great advantage to understand the conflict.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was certainly,like most Americans, brainwashed with Christian guilt, bombarded all my life with the pioneering image of Israel. I never gave mush thought to the life of those who were replaced by European Jewish "pioneers." This book put me back in touch with my humanity to discover the inhumanity of Zionism and its false history. It's a must read book. This is the Palestinian version of Anne Frank Diaries!"

[Alen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is one of the best books I have read on the Palestine/Israel issue. The writer did a great job weaving the personal experience into the historical context of the Palestinian refugee problems.

I loved most the way the writer kept me interested in finding more as I finished each chapter. It was a great reading!

[Margie Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this memoir to anyone who would like to better understand the background of the Palestinian refugee struggle. It tells the story in simple, but not simplistic, terms, and it is especially interesting because it is the product of actual experience.

[Blossomv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read in the summer, and even greater Christmas gift. I plan to buy five copies as gifts to five of my best friends this holiday season. The writer makes good case for the Palestinians side, something we rarely hear in the West. The book made me laugh, made me cry, happy and mad. It is all that and more. Loved it and recommend with no reservation.

[Jennifer Abdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Edition- not great on formatting.

There is an excellent history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in here.