The video above shows Conan O'Brien at the Palestinian side of the separation wall separating
the Palestinians and Israelis and then later at a refugee camp. I found the video extremely
interesting and engaging as it gave me a better view of what is happening directly from the
perspective of the people there. In this week’s article, I Was Born Here, but My Home, It’s Not
Here”: Educating for Democratic Citizenship in an Era of Transnational Migration and Global
Conflict, Thea Renda Abu El-Haj presents her research on a group of Palestinian-American
students regarding how they feel about being U.S. citizens and how they are viewed by fellow
Americans. Many of the students shared a common feeling of not belonging and being merely invisible in schools.
After September 11th, the tensions grew as they felt even worse in schools, and were labeled
as terrorists and judged by their peers and even their teachers and principals. The author
discusses incidents exemplifying “the equation Arab = terrorist” (286) and how that hurt the
students in schools in varying situations. I noticed how some Palestinian-Americans identify
as being from Palestine, regardless of the fact they were born in the United States and spent
little to no time there. Although, they do identify as Palestinian, they “view their U.S. citizenship
positively in terms of legal and political rights and economic access.” (287) The author also
points out that most of the students studied are “Transnational migrants... born in the U.S. but
spent the majority of their childhood years in Palestine.” (289-290) This helped me understand
the strong feeling of belonging to Palestine that these children maintain as they live their lives in
the U.S. I can’t imagine how I would feel about leaving place I spent most of my childhood and
made most of my memories.
students by Jean Wing who, similar to Palestinian-Americans, also had that feeling of invisibility
in schools. They also related in feeling like a foreigner in a country of which they had been born.
They had to come together in a club or at lunch or passing time during school, to find friends or
peers who could relate. In this club, they discussed cultural differences (within and outside of
their culture), and shared what had been happening to them at school and were able to come
together to counter each situation. They also discuss the important and useful pieces of
citizenship, such as access to jobs and money, healthcare, education, and social rights.
Regardless of the benefits to being a U.S. citizen, many Palestinian-Americans would choose
Palestine over the United States. I wonder too, would I want to live in a place where people
clearly do not want me? A place where I am constantly being treated as a danger to everyone
around me? A place where I am told I hate oppression by the president?
In this op-ed piece a writer explains how someone created the hashtag #PalestiniansHateOppression back in 2017 in reaction to Donald Trump's speech about Palestinians and hate. Well, who wouldn't hate being oppressed? If I were judged by the way I looked, harassed at borders because of an act or acts of a certain group, would I be happy there? I probably would want to go to where I feel I belong, I fit in can be me. I can’t even imagine how terrible it must feel. I want to make sure that in my classes I am not one of the teachers that they describe here. I will not ignore racial comments and I will strive to have these challenging conversations in class because “...we face a critical need for public education to recommit to this important purpose. How can the experiences of the Palestinian youth in this study help educators think about what it means to teach the youth to become active, engaged participants in the social, civic, and political spheres within and across the boundaries of the nation-state?” (309) She continues, “Educators must build classroom communities that foster students’ and teachers’ capacity to speak and listen respectfully across differences in values, beliefs, perspectives, politics and so forth.” (309) I agree wholeheartedly with this statement and couldn’t have said it better myself!
Given our current state in America, I think most of us can understand that we (as Americans) do not like to be defined by the views and actions of our leaders. I think that is an important understanding to have about people all around the world. Even when we may agree with ideas, we may not agree with actions taken. The women in the first video talks about that - she talks about welcoming people from the other side of the wall - she doesn't see it as a problem with the people themselves. Likewise, she says you "can't create peace by separating people" by a wall or any method.
ReplyDeleteI may sound naïve, but I think that is what makes America wonderful. We have a long way to go, I understand that, but we also have great opportunities because so many of us are surrounded by so many different people everyday. We can have peace if we work at it because so many steps have been taken! People have worked hard to change laws, to write laws, to change the course of history here. We (as the people) need to hold our leaders and our fellow man accountable so we live up to the freedom that America is 'known for'.
I think what El-Haj suggests for our schools is an important step in that process. Help the students understand and use the power they have as citizens and residents in the United States to make this country and the world a better place.
At the end of the op-ed piece, Adeeba Mabruk describes how Palestinian Americans "continue to organize and advocate for human rights for our people and the end of the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine." This mirrors what El-Haj discusses as steps we can take to ensure that our students become global citizens. It is our job to help students see that they have a place in the world, and if they are oppressed they have every right to fight for what they deserve. It's heartening to see people stand up to our current bigoted politicians. I think that, especially with our current administration, people from every walk of life are saying that enough is enough and we should treat each other better.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to hear the Palestinian women could not continue her studies because the U.S. Government refused her visa. It's as if not allowing people from Palestine or any country makes our society better. It doesn't. This women wants to continue her education in Environmental studies. She's literally an asset to the world, the environment. There is so much correction in the U.S. government that needs to be done. How can Palestinian-Americans feel they belong when their friends and family are denied to come to the U.S?
ReplyDelete