Nablus - On Tuesday, the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI) facilitated a videoconference between An Najah National University and Ithaca College in New York. The event, the second in a wider series of videoconference between these two universities, is part of RJI’s efforts to develop an cooperative international studies program at An Najah National University.

Participants in New York and Nablus met virtually in order to discuss Ibtisam Barakat’s autobiography, Tasting the Sky. In her novel, Barakat not only provides an in-depth, personal account of the Occupation, but employs an innovative style in Palestinian literature. In particular, panel moderator Ala’a Joudullah commented that Barakat’s approach is atypical for an Arab autobiography. “She is very confessional,” he said. Ala’a believes that Arab writers traditionally choose the events of their lives they are willing to share in a selective process that leaves out much of which may be unflattering. The result, he thinks, is less honest.

Barakat’s approach, utilizing writing as a sort of therapy, produces a broader picture and a kind of intimacy through which her audience can connect to the original experience. Hiba, a third year student of English at An Najah, observed that by keeping a diary, Barakat was gradually able to shed her fear until she could move beyond an act of “confession,” and begin to speak of a shared Palestinian experience of Occupation.

During the discussion, students explored themes including the role of education in empowering societies, the onus of responsibility for the recent deterioration of the political process, and the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees. In New York, Ithaca student Joey helped clarify a sentiment of doubt common in the United States regarding the feasibility of this goal. Many in the United States, he explained, believe that a large group of returning Palestinian refugees could create a second crisis, simply replacing one displaced people with another.

Dr. Nabil Alawi, An Najah Professor of English Literature, shared his own family story of displacement and return. When his family was forced from their home, they took refuge in a cave before gathering the courage and wherewithal to return. Dr. Nabil’s account highlights that the experience of refuge extends across generations of Palestinians, and while each individual story may vary, they share in common a desire for justice and the pursuit of the most basic of human rights. Abby, a student of Ithaca College, summed up the exchange well, “Hearing the personal stories connected me as a person to the realities you experience every day.”

RJI’s program at An Najah National University in Nablus is designed to provide new opportunities for cooperation between Palestinian students and their counterparts across the world. RJI is a project of the Assistant to the President for International and Strategic Affairs at An Najah National University and is hosted as an independent global studies initiative at the Korean-Palestinian IT Institute for Excellence. For more information, please visit us at www.RJIPalestine.net