Basima's Home
Haifa. Photo credit: Raney Aburdene
On this blog we have often referred to the Palestinian roots of our grandmother Basima – the driving force behind our kitchen. In light of the events over the last couple of weeks, we wanted to take the time and space here to expand on her story. We truly hope this is taken in the spirit in which it’s intended: of two granddaughters contemplating and recounting their ancestor’s heritage and lived experience.
What is happening today in Israel-Palestine is so close to our hearts, and so painful, because it involves the birthplace and homeland of our beloved sitto, our late grandmother. She was forced to leave her home in 1948 and never allowed to return. Thus, what we see happening to thousands of Palestinians on a daily basis, 73 years on, resonates deeply with us and tears us apart inside. It is not lost on us that had our grandmother never fled to Lebanon, and had resettled to another Palestinian city after her enforced displacement from Haifa as so many others did, she may have been experiencing some of the horrors we’ve been watching from the comfort of our screens today. Our prayers and our hearts go out to every single human being suffering today, in the region and across the world, and our only hope is for everybody to live in the peace, dignity and safety they deserve.
Jerusalem. Photo credit: Raney Aburdene
For the first time in our lifetimes, we truly feel small rays of hope shining through the debris. This is due to the united, beating heart of the growing movement that sees the Palestinians as they are: humans, living in inhumane circumstances. We are so heartened by people across the world – with differences in their approaches and beliefs, sure – unifying into a force for humanity, voicing their solidarity and support, using their platforms to call for justice and simply showing up for Palestinians. Showing them they are not alone. This is immensely powerful, for a people that have been voicing their pain for over seven decades to no avail. We really think that the unmistakeable potential of social media has been revealed over recent weeks: the narrative that has shaped the whole discourse of the Palestinian experience for most of the last century has essentially been democratised. Human voices and faces are showing us what is happening on the ground, with no filters and no specific framing of the story. This is a revolutionary moment. We are so proud of this cross-sectional, inter-faith and worldwide movement that pays no regard to background, politics or ethnicity but has within its sights only humanity and justice for all. We can only imagine how touched our grandmother would be to see the blossoming of this movement, and all the people that are coming together for her homeland, which she never forgot. We dream that she can indeed see it, from wherever she is.
Haifa. Photo credit: Raney Aburdene