Book
Description
“When a war ends it does not go away,”
my mother says.“It hides inside us . . . Just forget!”
But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want
to remember.
In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath
of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to
be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage,
she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion
as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family;
the harshness of life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy
when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This
is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language
becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of
her world, it becomes her true home.
Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and
timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture
that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world
peace. |