Palestinians Born in Exile: Diaspora and the Search for a Homeland

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments First of all I have to thank the young Palestinians around the world who agreed to share their stories and ideas with me. I have promised all of them anonymity, which makes it impossible to thank them by name. Without their willingness to work with me, and without their trust, this study would not have been possible. I hope that they find their experiences, hopes, and aspirations represented in this book. Many other people have helped and supported me on my journey with this project, and my thanks go to all of them, whether mentioned by name or not. I am particularly grateful to my adviser, Peter Heine, at Humboldt University in Berlin. He supported my ideas and the ethnographic track that I chose early on, and encouraged me to follow my intuition. Over the years, several senior scholars have supported my endeavors and have been mentors to me: Gerhard Höpp at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin, a source of knowledge on Palestinian history; Serif Mardin at Sabanci University in Istanbul; Hisham Sharabi at the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine inWashington, D.C., a Palestinian and American intellectual with deep insights into the Palestinian fate; and Sharif Kanaana at Birzeit University. John Esposito encouraged me towrite this book and provided ideas and institutional support through the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU) at Georgetown University. Yvonne Haddad discussed my ideas at various stages of my writing and provided additional sources and angles. I thank Lesley Sebastian and Clare Merrill at CMCU for their cheerful presence and their patience with my requests. The faculty and staff of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown were welcoming and helpful when I approached them in search of contacts in the Palestinian community in Washington, D.C. Zeina Seikaly deserves special thanks for opening the doors of many community members to me. Jim Fine and Carleta Bakerat the Friends School in Ramallah provided access to their school and students and shared their experiences and insights with me. xii palestinians born in exile For material support for this project, including writing and travel grants, I am grateful to the Municipality of Berlin for a two-year doctoral fellowship, the German Academic Exchange Service for supporting my fieldwork in the West Bank, the Fazit Foundation in Frankfurt for a writing grant that allowed me to finish on time, and the Ford Foundation in Cairo and New York for a conference travel grant. My position as a researcher at SHAML—The Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Center in Ramallah—provided material and institutional support , and insight into Palestinian civil society. I am grateful to my editor, Jim Burr, at the Universityof Texas Press for making this book possible and lending his support to it. I thank the reviewers for taking the time to read my manuscript carefully and provide detailed and helpful suggestions. Many friends and colleagues have discussed this project with me along the way and have provided me with useful feedback: Allen McDuffee was my first editor and provided me with shelter, friendship, and support in Washington, D.C. Khaled Al-Khatib is my Palestinian connection in Berlin and has shared many of his stories and experiences with me. Ferida Jawad was a role model and source of inspiration as a scholarand a teacher. Franck Moroy sent energy from Beirut and showed me a different side of Jordan. Moataz Dajani opened my eyes to the situation of Palestinians in Lebanon and helped me discover the value of working with children and art. Awad Halabi was at times more excited about my research than I was. Vincent Ovaert made Berlin a friendlier place for me. Ejaz Akram introduced me to American academia, showed me Washington, D.C., and took the time to help in many steps of the research process. Jamila Bargach shared with me her experiences in writing a book and made difficult times seem less confusing and lonely. Her enthusiasm was a source of inspiration for me. Noha Bakr was there for me with advice, hospitality, and friendship. Living in Washington, D.C., and working on this project was much more than a professional experience because of the warmth and hospitality of the Shami family: Dr. Jamil, Kamila, Jamilah, Muna, Mohammed, and Maha. Manal Omar has introduced me to many Palestinians and is myexample for living political and personal engagement with enthusiasm, energy, and pride. Scholars around the world shared their insights with me: Helga...