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| Karmah Elmusa |
"Throughout my life, I've felt a constant longing emanating from my
father, a sort of melancholy incompleteness. At some point his
displacement became an essential part of my and my younger brother
Layth's identities. Perhaps we felt the tension of being
Palestinian-American more acutely as time went on, and it presented us
with a choice: hide that part of ourselves or wear it like a badge. So
we embraced our Palestinian-ness—and our ethnic names—and never looked
back. By now, we know what's coming: unrest. And we brace ourselves for
the status quo: American politicians will dismiss dead Palestinians as
"terrorists," while respectfully mourning each lost Israeli life. We
live with the guilt that we are here, not there. The guilt that we can
come and go as we please, while Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
are barricaded into their homes, neighborhoods, or cities. Israel is
flanked by water, but many Palestinians will never see the sea."
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE
LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS
(and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE
& PEACE... and hopefully Palestine (& America...etc...)]
http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a31572/essay-on-being-palestinian-american/
I'm Longing for Palestine While Living the American Dream
My
father was born in Palestine and raised in a refugee camp; I was born
and raised in our national's capital. Who does that make me, exactly?
by Karmah Elmusa
After living under occupation their whole lives, and with no prospect of political resolution on the horizon, Palestinian youth have taken to the streets this month in protest. As I sit and watch the polarizing coverage—now considered to be at near-"catastrophic" levels—
from afar, disparate emotions dart around inside me like pinballs,
striking chords and hitting nerves. There's the sadness, of course–the
sadness that I always feel when I think about Palestine—that is now
pulled to the surface and sharper than usual. Sadness that so many of
today's young people are lost to a struggle that is decades old. Sadness
that it feels like it may continue for decades more... READ MORE
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