Amena El-Ashkar, one of the two speakers who will be traveling around the United States as part of the North America Nakba Tour, has a new article published in Mondoweiss about her experiences and encouraging people to participate in events and activities on the Tour.

The article begins:

Khawla Hammad was 16-years-old when she last lived in Palestine. That was 1948, when the Zionist militias drove her out along with her family and more than half the Palestinian population in Palestine.  Since then, she has lived as a refugee in Lebanon, with no citizenship in any country, and few rights.

I was born in Lebanon as a Palestinian refugee. I, too, have few rights and no citizenship even though I was born here, as were my parents.

Today, the population of Israel is 75 percent Jewish and 20 percent Palestinian-Arab. When Khawla was born, the population of Palestine was almost exactly the opposite, with less than 20 percent of the population Jewish. Including the West Bank and Gaza, the proportion of Palestinians in Palestine today is still just below fifty percent–despite the massive expulsions.

Visit Mondoweiss to read and share the entire article.