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<h1 id="reader-title">Palestinian Oral History as a Tool to
Defend Against Displacement<br>
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<p><span>by <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/en/author/thayer-hastings/">Thayer
Hastings</a> <time>on September 15, 2016<br>
</time></span></p>
<p><span><time></time>Oral history has a long
precedent in Arab and Palestinian culture
that stems from a broader oral tradition.
<a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/palestinian-oral-history-tool-defend-displacement/#note-5682-1"
id="return-note-5682-1" title="Oral
history entails interviewing people
about their perspectives on historical
events and everyday life. Recording
interviews becomes a way to connect with
members of a community while documenting
their experiences and endowing an
inheritance of knowledge to future
generations." class="simple-footnote"><sup>1</sup></a></span><span> In
the years immediately following the Nakba
of 1948 the Arab tradition of the </span><i><span>hakawati</span></i><span>
(storyteller) was used, according to </span><a
href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4187518.pdf?repositoryId=175"><span>Nur
Masalha</span></a><span>, to shore up a
defense against erasure of culture and
memory among Palestinians. Since then,
oral history has served as a prominent
counter narrative in the context of active
settler colonialism throughout Palestine
and colonialism’s afterlives in the Arab
world. It is a primary method through
which Palestinians engage collective
events of trauma </span><span>or
mobilization. </span></p>
<p><span>For Palestinians in the homeland as
well as in exile, oral history production
centers around a common experience of
displacement. Around 67 percent of
Palestinians are displaced: The most
recent </span><a
href="http://badil.org/en/publication/press-releases/60-2015/4506-pr-en-101115-35.html"><span>estimates</span></a><span>
put the global Palestinian refugee and
internally displaced population at nearly
8 million. By locating the oral history
process in the idea of a space such as</span>
<span>a village ethnically cleansed during
the Nakba, displaced communities forge a
physical center even after depopulation.</span></p>
<p><span>Rosemary Sayigh, through her work in
Lebanon’s refugee camps in the 1980s, was
among the first to systematically document
Palestinian oral history. In 1983, </span><a
href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2201473X.2014.955945?journalCode=rset20"><span>Birzeit
University</span></a><span> developed
one of the first programs in the Arab
world to teach oral history. The </span><a
href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-researchers-determined-record-nakba-generation-time-runs-out/12872"><span>Islamic
University of Gaza</span></a><span>
founded its Oral History Center in 1998 to
collect oral histories from the Nakba and
the 1967 Naksa. <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/palestinian-oral-history-tool-defend-displacement/#note-5682-2"
id="return-note-5682-2" title="Naksa or
“setback” is the term Arabs use to refer
to the 1967 June War and to distinguish
it from the Nakba or “catastrophe” of
1948." class="simple-footnote"><sup>2</sup></a></span></p>
<p><span>While a more formal production of
Palestinian oral history production thus
began decades ago, it is currently
experiencing a surge. Historian Beshara
Doumani </span><a
href="http://www.palestine-studies.org/jq/fulltext/165402"><span>dubbed</span></a><span>
this wider phenomenon of preservation a
“Palestinian archive fever.” In April 2016
the National Endowment for the Humanities
awarded a $260,000 grant to the </span><a
href="http://www.aub.edu.lb/IFI/PROGRAMS/POHA/Pages/index.aspx"><span>Palestinian
Oral History Archive</span></a><span>
housed at the American University of
Beirut, where a team is digitizing and
coding 1,000 hours of interviews with
refugees from 135 Palestinian villages who
fled during the Nakba. </span></p>
<p><span>Other recent productions include </span><a
href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2201473X.2014.955945"><span>journal
articles</span></a><span> as well as
themes for </span><a
href="http://www.badil.org/en/publication/periodicals/al-majdal/itemlist/category/38-issue32.html"><span>magazine</span></a><span>
and </span><a
href="http://mada-research.org/en/2014/04/22/reflections-palestinian-oral-history-jadal-issue-20-april-2014/"><span>journal</span></a><span>
issues, </span><a
href="http://english.dohainstitute.org/content/ca049653-99a1-4471-92d3-2adb868fa608"><span>conferences</span></a><span>
and community </span><a
href="http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/research/projects/details/index.php?id=328"><span>workshops</span></a><span>,
</span><a
href="http://the-archipelago.net/2015/02/15/hana-sleiman-constructing-a-palestinian-oral-history-archive/"><span>audio</span></a>
<a
href="http://www.statushour.com/hana-slieman.html"><span>interviews</span></a><span>,</span><span>
and the </span><a
href="http://nakbamuseumdc.org/siteportal/NM3/index.html"><span>Nakba
Museum</span></a><span> project in
Washington, DC. The new </span><a
href="http://www.palmuseum.org/language/arabic"><span>Palestinian
Museum</span></a><span> located on the
campus of Birzeit University, inaugurated
in May 2016, may also come to serve as a
prime oral history institution. In
addition, Sayigh continues her engagement
through such projects as </span><a
href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/18421/what-history-books-for-children-in-palestinian-cam"><span>history
books</span></a><span> for Palestinian
children in refugee camps that use oral
history – told by the children themselves
– as content.</span></p>
<p><span>Since its origins, Palestinian oral
history production has been concerned with
recording the testimonies of the aging
Nakba generation, but also with creating a
platform for displaced communities and
their ownership over knowledge. In the
context of Palestinian statelessness,
Zionist Israeli state archives extend
settler colonialism into the spaces of
knowledge preservation and production
where Palestinian narratives are erased or
exploited. </span></p>
<p><span>Three decades after concerted
Palestinian oral history efforts began,
oral history projects now traverse four or
more generations of displaced
Palestinians. Because of its emphasis on
social history and marginalized
perspectives, oral history work has the
potential to create a space for diverse
multi-generational experiences. This can
be leveraged as a counter-archive to
ongoing settler colonial erasure. </span></p>
<h2>Palestinian Oral History as Activism</h2>
<p><span>The field of oral history production
has already seen enormous </span><a
href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/241268"><span>contributions</span></a><span>
from Palestinians worldwide, giving its
practitioners opportunities for advancing
a community approach designed to combat </span><a
href="http://www.badil.org/en/"><span>ongoing
displacements</span></a><span> in
Palestine. However, while Palestinian oral
history production is vast, few
initiatives have been explicit about oral
history’s relationship to activism, save
for one: Palestine Remembered. </span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span><em>"Oral history can
amplify community<br>
struggles defending against
displacements by documenting<br>
protests, legal battles, and cultural
expression."</em></span></p>
<p><a
href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/OralHistory/Interviews-Listing/Story1151.html"><span>Palestine
Remembered</span></a><span>,</span><span>
a digital project founded by Salah
Mansour, demonstrates a recent multimedia
approach to the use of Palestinian oral
history for activism. The al-Nakba’s Oral
History Project, launched as a subsection
of Palestine Remembered in 2003, now
contains more than 600 interviews with
Nakba survivors or descendants of
survivors. The interviews are drawn
explicitly into the realm of activism and
advocacy through a section titled “</span><a
href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story725.html"><span>The
Conflict 101</span></a><span>.</span><span>”
The section situates dispossession as
central to the narrative, and the oral
history portal is contingent on the direct
participation of displaced communities.
Interviews are coupled with </span><a
href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Maps/index.html"><span>maps</span></a><span>
and photographs that advance a counter
narrative to Zionism, with the interviews
providing content to bolster a
counter-cartography. The platform as a
whole curates oral history, cartography,
photography, and other content around a
narrative of resistance. </span></p>
<p><span>While recording stories of
Palestinian elders who witnessed the Nakba
is more urgent than ever, oral history
also has the potential to amplify
community struggles to defend against
current displacements by documenting
protests, legal battles, and cultural
expression. This provides a space for a
counter narrative that is particularly
useful to Palestinian communities living
under Israeli rule, whether in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory or in
Israel, or for Palestinians marginalized
by other governments. <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/palestinian-oral-history-tool-defend-displacement/#note-5682-3"
id="return-note-5682-3" title="Although
this is outside the scope of this piece,
it is worth recalling that oral
testimonies from 23 survivors of the
1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre were
crucial in the Belgian Supreme Court
ruling to prosecute Ariel Sharon for
crimes against humanity, including the
crime of genocide under universal
jurisdiction." class="simple-footnote"><sup>3</sup></a></span></p>
<p><span>A networked and activist </span><span>oral
history practice can prioritize community
building and autonomy from structures of
Israeli state domination while
strengthening Palestinian ties across
fragmented Palestine and the diaspora. </span><span>This
is particularly crucial at this juncture,
as the </span><a
href="http://nakbafiles.org/2016/05/26/archives-week-on-the-nakba-files/"><span>Israel
State Archive</span></a><span> has
announced changes that</span> <span>will
result in restricted access to documents,
including those regarding confiscated
Palestinian property that could shed light
on Israeli land seizures.</span></p>
<p><span>The growth of worldwide Palestinian
oral history production initiatives
comprises the basis for a network in which
campaigns could be amplified. Palestine
Remembered and the Beirut-based
Palestinian Oral History Archive are two
of the main recent actors establishing
this groundwork through documentation and
digitization. Together and with others
they can share common methods and
resources and mobilize oral history in
creative and powerful ways. One potential
avenue for such networked activism is to
support specific communities that are
defending themselves against displacement.
</span></p>
<h2>Legal Roadblocks and Local Avenues for
Success</h2>
<p><span>Two communities in urgent need of
oral history as an activist practice are
the neighboring villages of </span><a
href="http://www.adalah.org/en/tag/index/645"><span>Attir
and Umm al-Hiran</span></a><span> in the
northern Naqab. These villages immediately
south of the Green Line of the West Bank
are home to around 1,000 residents and are
under immediate threat of expulsion, much
like the nearby South Hebron Hills
villages including </span><a
href="http://mondoweiss.net/2016/08/considers-demolition-opinion/"><span>Susiya</span></a><span>.
A recent Israeli High Court ruling has
slated Attir and Umm al-Hiran for
demolition and replacement with a
Jewish-only town and a Jewish National
Fund forest.</span></p>
<p>Residents and allies are organizing a
defense, but appealing such cases within the
Israeli court system is fraught with
obstacles. Israeli courts are known to deny
oral testimonies as proof of Palestinian
land claims.</p>
<p align="LEFT"><span><em>"Oral history opens
spaces of possibility by mobilizing
multigenerational stories of
rootedness."</em></span></p>
<p><span>For example, in 2015, the Israeli
High Court rejected the oral testimonies
to residence and ownership of the Al Uqbi
family of the unrecognized Al Araqib
village in the Naqab. The court does not
include in its definition of ownership the
Palestinian Bedouin legal culture of oral
contracts, a system that long preceded the
Israeli state. The </span><a
href="http://972mag.com/israel-supreme-court-bedouin-have-no-indigenous-rights/107171/"><span>court
ruling</span></a><span> was significant
in that it legitimized state expropriation
of indigenous land, a law-based method
that furthers settler colonialism and is </span><a
href="http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719071683/"><span>also
seen</span></a><span> in Australia,
North America, and South Africa. </span></p>
<p><span>While the Israeli government and
courts reject claims by Palestinian
citizens of Israel and non-citizens alike,
the value of oral history work is in
producing narratives unconstrained by the
contortions needed to survive the
ethnic-based exclusionary logic of the
Israeli legal system. Essentially, the
practice generates an alternative history
that stands in contrast to lawmaking and
other modes of officialdom. </span></p>
<p><span>By extending backward, narratives
autonomous from the state’s discourse show
how precarious and temporary Israeli laws
or previous regimes of rule (British and
Ottoman) can be while reinforcing
community identity. Working outside of and
in opposition to the legal discourse
highlights the law’s limitations and
affirms indigeneity in the face of settler
colonial law. It therefore also extends
forward, creating alternative narratives
and opens the space for planning how to </span><a
href="http://zochrot.org/en/press/52857"><span>implement</span></a><span>
the right of return. This can be seen in
designs of </span><a
href="http://zochrot.org/en/video/56386"><span>digital
villages</span></a><span> based on the
memories of pre-Nakba generations. Oral
history opens spaces of possibility by
mobilizing multi-generational stories of
rootedness. <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/palestinian-oral-history-tool-defend-displacement/#note-5682-4"
id="return-note-5682-4" title="Although
not the focus of this piece, oral
history certainly goes beyond the topic
of displacement or the courts. For
example, the majority of contributions
contained in BADIL’s magazine, Al-Majdal
(Winter 2007) and a 2014 conference
session on Palestinian oral history at
the Arab Center for Research and Policy
Studies, as examples, are oriented
toward fields other than the law."
class="simple-footnote"><sup>4</sup></a></span></p>
<p><span>In a context in which the legal
system is designed to reject Palestinian
existence, to be successful advocacy work
must foster an approach that can function
independently of state institutions. <a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/palestinian-oral-history-tool-defend-displacement/#note-5682-5"
id="return-note-5682-5" title="Along the
same lines, B’Tselem, the Israeli
Information Center for Human Rights in
the Occupied Territories, recognizes
that undertaking advocacy within the
legal system is a tactic that depends on
the ruling regime’s mechanisms in the
hopes of creating minute openings. In
May 2016, the organization announced
that it will stop filing complaints with
the Israeli military. B’Tselem concluded
that the legitimacy it accorded the
Israeli military legal system did more
harm than good." class="simple-footnote"><sup>5</sup></a> </span><span>Advocacy
and activism can be designed to bolster
the vibrancy of communities by addressing
localized needs.</span></p>
<p><span>An activist use of oral history
production frames community building as a
form of self defense by filling needs for
localized knowledge and literature.
Whether in the Naqab or across Palestine,
other essential projects include </span><a
href="http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/guide-perplexed"><span>documenting</span></a><span>
village histories, establishing </span><a
href="http://www.pal-youth.org/"><span>networks</span></a><span>
for public action and protest, and
strengthening informal organizations to
promote </span><a
href="http://www.grassrootsalquds.net/"><span>civil
society</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p><span>Attir and Umm al-Hiran are
particularly important sites for activism
because, despite notable </span><a
href="https://bdsmovement.net/news/stop-prawer-plan-call-action-november-30th"><span>exceptions,</span></a><span>
Palestinian communities of the Naqab do
not receive equivalent attention, support,
or resources as do those of the West Bank
or the Galilee. The result is that
Palestinians and those concerned with the
plight of Palestinians are largely unaware
of and misunderstand the conditions for
the community in the Naqab who face severe
attempts at displacement. For this reason
and others, Attir and Umm al-Hiran are
prime candidates for activist intervention
in the form of oral history, including,
for example, the production of a variety
of advocacy materials for a community at
risk of its second displacement since
1948. </span></p>
<h2>Orienting Oral History Towards Justice</h2>
<p><span>While the act of recording personal
experiences – particularly those that
challenge dominant narratives and
structures – is activist in nature, oral
history is well-suited for more organized
and systematic activism, advocacy, and
community mobilization. Especially in the
face of ongoing displacements and a denied
right of return, a collective body of
Palestinian oral history production can be
leveraged by activists to advocate for
land and other claims and to defend
communities against displacement.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span><em>"Oral history
production necessarily anchors activist
and advocacy efforts in communities' own
narratives."</em></span></p>
<p><span>There is a pressing need for
reorienting an understanding of advocacy
and activism toward community building on
the local and collective levels. Rights
appeals to international actors – the
dominant mode of Palestinian advocacy
today – can and should derive from a
prioritization of local audiences and
needs. Oral history production necessarily
anchors activist and advocacy efforts in
communities’ own narratives. </span></p>
<p><span>In addition to prioritizing local
audiences and needs and leveraging a
widespread oral history network, oral
history activists could also draw from and
contribute to comparative initiatives:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span>The US-based </span><a
href="http://www.oralhistoryforsocialchange.org/"><span>Groundswell</span></a><span>
network includes a number of oral
history organizations and practitioners
that focus explicitly on leveraging oral
history for “movement building and
transformative social change,” in which
personal stories are used to refute
marginalization. Groundswell can provide
lessons on mobilizing oral history for
organizing and advocacy through a
network.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span>The San Francisco-based </span><a
href="http://www.antievictionmappingproject.net/narratives.html"><span>Anti-Eviction
Mapping Project</span></a><span> and
its online oral history and data
analysis directly challenge landlord
abuse and urban displacement. Though the
contexts of displacement in San
Francisco and the Palestinian case
differ vastly, translating across them
offers a model that leverages oral
history as an organizing tool in
addition to its established role as a
repository for memory. The Anti-Eviction
Mapping Project conducts oral history
work through “deep descriptions” that
provide complete stories rather than
sound bytes. By avoiding one-dimensional
depictions of people, such oral history
also seeks to challenge normative
framings of advocacy work.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span>Digitization makes a comparative and
better networked Palestinian oral history
possible. </span><span>Along with dozens
of well-established oral history
initiatives, such as Birzeit University’s
online catalog of historical resources
including oral history </span><a
href="http://www.awraq.birzeit.edu/?q=search/node/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%81%D9%88%D9%8A"><span>interviews</span></a><span>,
there are many small-scale family or
community-based oral history practices
that often go no further than the homes of
those who recorded them. </span><span>The
groundwork for leveraging a widespread
oral history network is primed for a step
forward. Both established Palestinian oral
history work and upcoming work, such as
that of the Palestinian Oral History
Archive in Lebanon, can be oriented toward
justice and social change. </span></p>
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<div class="excerpt large-9 large-centered
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<aside class="author">
<figure class="avatar medium-2 columns">
<br>
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<div class="inner medium-10 columns right">
<h5><a
href="https://al-shabaka.org/en/author/thayer-hastings/">Thayer
Hastings</a></h5>
<p>Al-Shabaka Policy Member Thayer Hastings
is a master's candidate at the Center for
Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown
University in Washington, DC, where he is
primarily studying critical citizenship,
displacement and settler colonialism.
After completing a B.A. from the
University of Washington in Seattle, he
returned to Palestine, where he carried
out research and advocacy in law and human
rights. Thayer worked with local
Palestinian and international
non-governmental organizations, including
BADIL Resource Center and the American
Friends Service Committee. His research
and writing continue to be informed by a
commitment to community-led initiatives
and decolonizing methodologies.</p>
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