Fatima was 14 when she faced the ‘great catastrophe’ of 1948 that upended the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Amid the horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza, she is reliving the nightmare.
Fatima Khamees Alyaan Abu-Shammala at her home in Deir al Balah. Photo: Abuibaker Abed/ TRT World
As Israel once again forces millions of Palestinians to flee their homes in Gaza and other occupied territories, Fatima is reliving the horrors of the Nakba. We were five – my parents, brother, sister, and me – in a huge house with a big courtyard, a clay oven, a chicken pen, and a land full of apricot trees and herbs.
We knew it was time to leave. We just took our IDs, land documents and some clothes. We did not forget to lock the house and take the keys, hoping we would return soon. I saw people carrying the bodies of their loved ones on their shoulders to the graveyard. Those heart-rending scenes have remained with me all these years.A few years later, I got married to a man from Deir al Balah and moved in with him to start my own family.
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