Palestinian Identity Beyond Borders
For the million displaced Palestinians around the world, the collective love for Palestine is a reminder that identity transcends borders.
Edited By: Malak Elkaddadi
Photos Taken By: Nadine Abo Ramadan
Diasporas, amid a world of divisions, are not just vital for those involved, but for the global community. The diverse experiences and identities that arise reflect human resilience and adaptability in our interconnected world.
Diasporas are the dispersion of a group of people from their original homeland, maintaining new communities and cultural ties in new locations. There are approximately 7 million Palestinians in diaspora, according to the Arab Center Washington DC. This diaspora has been formed as a result of historical events, including Al-Nakba in 1948 that led to the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians.
The experiences of Palestinians across the globe are diverse, influenced by a variety of factors, such as the host country, the historical context of their migration, and their personal circumstances.
“When I was young, I thought that every city in the world was divided through barriers. I thought that was the norm. Later, I found out that you can even drive between two countries. I was very surprised by this information,” says B.D., who has been living and studying in Turkey for a year now.
B.D. preferred to stay anonymous due to her unique and complex citizenship status.B.D. has a Quds identity card that allows them to go back to their home at Al-Quds City through the Israeli Airports, but B.D. has no permanent nationality from either Israel or Palestine and currently holds only a temporary Jordanian passport.
B.D. tells The Caravan that when she first moved to Turkey, she was stunned to find street musicians and people dancing and chanting in the streets, their singing carrying no particular purpose or occasion. In her opinion, they have the time, the freedom, and the privilege to do so.
“As someone living in Istanbul, if I want to walk between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, I can. In Palestine, if I want to walk between Ramallah and Al-Quds — which are approximately 2 kilometers apart — I have to have an ID and all. Here, I have access to any place within my line of sight,” she adds.
B.D. explains that she feels more Palestinian when she is outside of Palestine, not because she loves her identity any less, but because within her homeland, there is no constant need to prove her cause to her own people.
She is filled with a positive sense of patriotism.
When she is abroad, she constantly feels compelled to explain the Palestinian cause. She perceives herself as a source of information outside of Palestine, and she frequently finds herself elaborating on the nuances of the various types of Palestinian IDs.
While B.D. has only been living abroad for around a year, Nadine Abo Ramadan— a Gazan who has been studying media and visual arts in Turkey— has been living there for almost four years.
Abo Ramadan was careful to emphasize to The Caravan that she comes from Gaza. She went on to clarify that her life experiences as a Palestinian from Gaza are distinct from those of Palestinians in other regions of Palestine.
She firmly believes that this regional background has significantly influenced her identity, life experiences, and the decisions she has made,
“It affected the fact that I chose [Turkey] as a destination for my education because I felt like I always had to be close [to] home. It is just hard to go to Gaza; it is hard to go out of Gaza; I want my parents to be able to come constantly. And it also affects the major that I chose,choosing media and visual arts; I feel being Gazan has an effect on it,” says Abo Ramadan.
drawing from her experiences abroad, Abo Ramadan believes that being in Gaza somewhat limits her opportunities. She thinks that the possibilities for making a meaningful impact on the city are limited.
Even though Palestinians living in the diaspora grew up in different circumstances, she thinks that they share a lot of similarities rooted in their love for Palestine.
“I went to Gaza last summer; it was the first time for me to go to Gaza since I started my undergrad degree,” she says, adding that she was always concerned whether she would be able to get out of Gaza if she ever goes.
Reflecting on the current events, Abo Ramadan adds that even though Turkey is a state that openly supports Palestine, the opposing radical views still make her feel unsafe.
“I feel like maybe if someone understands what this keffiyeh means and that it associates with Palestine, they would try to harm me. Whenever I am wearing it in the metro, and I am waiting for the train, I try to get away from the trails of the metro; I feel like some people may be radical enough to do something,” adds Abo Ramadan.
Although Abo Ramadan and B.D. have lived in Palestine for most of their lives, there are other Palestinians who have never been to their homeland.
Abdulrahman Abu Audeh is a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon who recently moved to Turkey to pursue his undergraduate studies. He lived his whole life in Lebanon, and he never got to try the famous pomegranates of his hometown, Saffuriyya, Palestine. From his mother’s side, some of his relatives are still living in the West Bank.
Despite residing in Lebanon, he emphasizes the strength of the Palestinian community in preserving their culture amidst the diverse cultural landscape of the region.
“In Lebanon, they emphasize the differences between nationalities. I would say, in general, because the area I live in is mostly Palestinian people, connection has been strong. We’ve been preserving our culture. We have not been mixed into other cultures or the Lebanese culture,” says Abu Audeh.
He also thinks that his Palestinian identity has played a great role in his life. He has been trying to keep his traditions alive. Like Abo Ramadan, Abu Audeh’s Palestinian identity affected his choice of major. He thinks that by studying electrical engineering, he would be able to understand and help overcome the hard living conditions back home.
“For general education, I think that message shared by all Palestinians, all of us genuinely think that education is extremely important,” adds Abu Audeh.
According to the UN, literacy rates in Palestine stood at 97.7 percent in January 2023, which reflects the importance of education to Palestinians despite their extremely harsh reality.
Like Abu Audeh, Lisa Saad, an 18-year-old Palestinian who holds a Jordanian passport and lived most of her life in the UAE, was born after her grandparents had to flee during Al-Nakba. Her father has been living in Jordan his whole life, while her mother lived half of her life in Kuwait. Saad had no one left back in Palestine; they all had to flee.
“Even though I’ve never been there, I’ve never set foot in there, it feels like it is something you’ve lived, even though you didn’t live this memory. It feels like at some point [in] my life, I lived those memories,” said Saad. “It feels so surreal.”
She thinks that stories she has been told growing up contribute to the culture and heritage of Palestine.
“It brings that belonging inside of you. It is like you want to know about something that you cannot reach, even though it is not so far away. And that does upset me sometimes, most of the time, to be honest,” adds Saad.
Even though she has lived abroad her whole life, Saad cannot name any other place home simply because they are not home. Saad felt this way at a very young age.
“I remember one time, probably when I was 8 years old, there was this one advertisement about the Palestinian resistance. It was a Palestinian kid holding a rock in his hand, facing an Israeli military tank. Most kids at this age wouldn’t understand, but to me, it made so much sense, and I related to it. Why does this kid, who’s Palestinian [just like me], have to face that?” asks Saad.
In the rich and diverse world of Palestinian identities, the stories of those in the diaspora reflect a profound and enduring connection to their homeland. Whether they have spent their lives outside Palestine, like Saad, or have ventured abroad for education, like Abdulrahman, these individuals share a common thread—a deep sense of belonging to a place they may have never physically touched.
