First Person
Ghosts of Palestine's Past
In the process of doing her doctoral field research on remnants of the Nakba in the contemporary Israeli landscape, the author realized that to see beyond the post-1948 “architectural cleansing” it was necessary to look in a very particular way.
Syria, Ukraine and a Would-Be Assassin
I got in touch with Ryan Routh through one of the posters he had spread around town in Kyiv. I was a reporter there and had noticed his posters and the Syrian flag and was curious what it was about. When we spoke on the phone, he did not beat around the bush. He claimed to have over 200 Syrian military men who were ready to go to Ukraine and fight the Russians. He just needed help bringing them to Ukraine.
Retracing a Childhood in Jerusalem
In the years since I left Jerusalem, I have been deprogramming from the city. I stopped speaking to people I knew from school there and told myself many times that I would not return. But I ended up flying into the country in January, three months after the October attack.
How Prominent Muslims in Austria Were Painted as Enemies of the State
In 2020, my home was raided by the Austrian police as part of Operation Luxor, a crackdown on Muslim civil society activists. Only later would I discover what lay behind the branding of prominent Muslim voices as Islamist enemies of the state and made my life in Austria impossible.
I Grew Up by Sicily’s Lake Pergusa; Now I Can Walk Across It
What has happened at Pergusa is a foretaste of what other fragile ecosystems will face in the future if action is not taken soon. Here, in the heart of Sicily, in the heart of the Mediterranean, we have witnessed the end of the seasons.
In Postwar Sarajevo, the Similarities With Middle East Turmoil Resonate
During a recent trip abroad, I visited Bosnia-Herzegovina, curious to see how a European country that broke up and later survived a sectarian war might look three decades on. I’ve had this curiosity about the aftermath of war and carnage ever since I could remember, mainly because, like so many of my generation in the Middle East and, unfortunately, so many more of the younger generations there, I grew up bearing witness to war, wondering how a nation might one day overcome its own mistakes and misfortune — or not.
How a Family, Amid Israeli Oppression, Survived the Trek From Gaza City to Rafah
We were forced to leave our home on Nov. 11, driven out by Israel against our will. Our family had managed to survive for 29 horrendous days since Israel ordered the north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate south on Oct. 13. I think Israel can't stand the idea of Palestinians making their own decisions — part of the danger of constantly living under a brutal siege. History is repeating itself. Isn't one Nakba enough?