Book Review: Voices from the Camps: A People’s History of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, by Nabil Maarshood Asmaa Ashraf Nabil Marshood takes readers on a journey to the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan; as a traveler, one must be prepared for seeking new knowledge and challenging existing preconceived notions. Voices from The Camps: A people's history of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan is written from a sociological and psychological perspective, thus tackling two areas of study that are lacking in the Palestinian literature. The book brings the Palestinian refugee camp life and its people closer to us so we can not only recognize their traumatic experiences and struggles, but most importantly, their humanity. The author beautifully states , “You may begin by looking at your personal baggage: your biases, prejudices, political agendas, and attitudes. This is a heavy baggage to carry on such a journey. Try to leave it behind and start afresh to learn, inquire, and examine with an open mind.” As we begin this journey one piece of advice would be to accept reality and seek truth, even when it may seem inconvenient.
ents. Neighbors, reporters, and researchers often visit, disturbing the privacy of the refugees. Basic infrastructure such as proper sewage systems, garbage collection, and quality education doesn’t exist. The first stop Marshood takes us on is Zarqa Camp. The author takes readers on a journey to Irbid, Jerash, Al Hussein, Hitteen and Baqa'a camp. In each camp, one can hear voices of identity, oppression, hopelessness, shame, loyalty, discipline, frustration, politics, anger, dual identity, hospitality, misery, despair, exile, protest, but most importantly a voice for justice, a voice to gain the right to return to their homes. A voice from Zarqa camp says, “It seems that all that is left of Palestine is the symbol, the idea. We cannot name our children after Palestinian landmarks and towns (because) those symbols will be taken away.” The author states the elders continue to pass down their oral history so their children can remember the stories of dispossession for the upcoming generations so that they always remember Palestine. Most of the people in the camp were forced out of their homes in 1948. The refugees mentioned how when they left their properties under fear of persecution, they were told that it was a matter of days until they would return home. But it was all a lie, they felt hopeless and mentioned nobody cares for their cause. Religion is on its rise; people have lost hope, their only hope now is God. The school curriculums used to teach children the history of Palestine but after the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel, those courses were removed. The biggest complaint in the camps is that their children won't know their history, thus leaving individual families to teach their children about their roots and the Nakba through oral tradition.
The journey has begun. A recurring theme in this book is identity. Something unique about the Palestinian identity is that it has been under siege for a long time. Attempts to destroy the Palestinian identity began before the Nakba in 1948. The Nakba marks a very traumatic point in Palestinian history, which resulted in the destruction of homes, villages, families, dreams, hope, and the involuntarily imposed status of refugeehood. However, the most remarkable aspect of the Palestinian identity is that it lives on and is getting stronger and stronger regardless of how tough their adversaries become. The author originally planned to meet the refugees in their homes to sit down and record their experiences, only later to realize how impossible this task might be. A refugee in a camp doesn’t have a home, instead for the majority of their time, they stay outside their “housing unit” which doesn’t even give them enough space to sit together as a family. Children often sleep in the same room as their par-
Unemployment and poverty is on its rise. Hunger is everywhere. Refugees don't have medical insurance so they're unable to pay medical expenses even if they are sick or injured. Samia is one of the 16
