David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, predicted that the memory of the Nakba, the catastrophic expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland in 1948, would fade over time. However, for Omer Ihsan Yaseen, a 20-year-old Palestinian refugee living in Amman, Jordan, the memory remains strong. Omer proudly displays a key to his grandparents’ house in Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv, as a symbol of Palestinian identity and the right of return.
The key is part of a collection of memorabilia in the family’s optician shop in Amman, along with soil from Gaza and Jaffa. Omer’s father, Ihsan, recounts how their family home was burned during the first Arab-Israeli war, but the key remains a symbol of resistance. The family has lived in al-Wehdat, a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, for generations, but they see it as a temporary solution until they can return to their homeland.
Ihsan describes the close-knit community in Jaffa before the violence of the Haganah forced them to flee. He recalls the pain of leaving their home with the hope of returning soon, only to spend 19 years in exile before being uprooted once again in the 1967 War.
Despite the trauma and displacement, the Yaseen family remains committed to their Palestinian identity and the dream of returning to their homeland. Through their memories, memorabilia, and enduring hope, they keep the spirit of resistance alive, showing that the memory of the Nakba continues to shape the lives and aspirations of countless Palestinian refugees.
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