No Place to Call Home: My Life as a Palestinian Refugee

A story of resilience and hope-the life of a simple Palestinian girl who survived five wars, countless refugee camps, raised thirteen children, and now shares both her suffering and wisdom. Thuraya was born in the small village of Tira near Haifa, Palestine, at the beginning of the Arab revolt (1936-1939) against British colonial rule. In 1948, when she was 12 years old, "Zionist militias" with "support from the British" "bombed our areas with everything they had of hardware and military power." She and her family walked a few hours to the east to seek refuge in the town of Jenin. As the unexpected "Nakba" ("Disaster") of 1948 continued and intensified, however, they moved on to a refugee camp in Baghdad, Iraq. There they encountered the usual refugee experience of hardship and discrimination; but their family relationships, religious faith, and skilled Palestinian gardening and cooking kept them alive and happy for the most part.