nakba

It's the 60th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or the Catastrophe. It has now been 60 years since Palestinians were forced from their homeland and became refugees, many walking barefoot to Gaza and the West Bank, living in caves before the first refugee camps formed.

I talked with some old women and men in the Askar refugee camp outside of Nablus during my last stay in the West Bank. They remember being forced from their towns and villages, their homes, as soldiers invaded. They remember being told that they would be allowed to return home. Now, 60 years later, there is no end to the occupation in sight and Israeli settlements continue to be built in the West Bank. Now, 60 years later, Palestinians are still waiting.