A professor of history at an American university has collated the translated diary of a young Palestinian man from Hebron who was in his early 20's during the last years of the British mandate.
While many new books on Israel/Palestine pore
over the conflict and its lack of resolution, the details of identity
formation, the political trials and triumphs on each side, few books
give the reader a heart-felt tug that can come from the voice of
youth. Among works by and about Palestinians, many books that share
individuals’ lives have thus far appeared in Arabic. Indeed, there has
been an increase in the number of memoirs, autobiographies, and
biographies, on both sides of the historical conflict, but few come
from the pens of young people as they struggle to fulfill dreams of
education, employment, and marriage to that right person.
The publication of A Young Palestinian’s Diary, 1941-1945: The Life of Sami ‘Amr
by the University of Texas Press (July, 2009) gives readers of English
the opportunity to see the realities and challenges through the eyes of
Sami, who wrote his diary while in his late teens and early twenties.
Sami’s story is both a coming of age account and documentary evidence
of the life of this particular youth (and perhaps many other young
people during this period in Palestine and other parts of the globe)
experiencing life and rule under the British mandate (1917-1920,
military administration; 1920-1948 mandate government).
Sami left his home in Hebron at 17 years of age to find work and a
place to live in the British mandate capital of Jerusalem. The
vagaries of living alone in the city appear poignantly in the pages of
Sami’s diary, as he shares his experiences of different rented rooms
and flats, landlords and landladies, as well as the neighbors and
co-workers whom he encountered daily. He was not always alone, as he
sometimes shared a flat with a brother who at first worked with him,
and later joined the British army. His brother Sa‘di’s experience in
the military serves as a stark reminder of the complexities of the
Palestinian Arab experience during the mandate period, just as it
should remind researchers how little studied this aspect of Palestinian
history during the British mandate is. His struggles with work,
relationships and his future appear throughout revealing not only
the difficulties of his life but also his perseverance through tough
circumstances. In reading about Sami’s efforts to advance his studies,
his work in different jobs connected to the British government in
Palestine, and his travails in love, the reader becomes fully aware
that his experience is the experience of youth almost everywhere:
completing an education, finding a suitable job, and finding a life
partner.
Click here to read the entire summary of the book on the History News Network website.
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21 Sep 2009 2:27 AM
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