THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA in EUROPE Challenges of Dual Identity and Adaptation
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THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA IN EUROPE Challenges of Dual Identity and Adaptation Editor Abbas Shiblak Refugee and Diaspora Studies Series, No.2 The Book and CD were produced thanks to a Ford Foundation grant ISBN: 9950-315-05-4 CD Produced & Printed By SAMA www.samaproduction.com 2005 The Arabic Version is in a book was printed by Al-Ayyam company Palestine The Palestinian Diaspora In Europe: Challenges of Dual Identity and Adaptation Edited By Abbas Shiblak 1 Contents Preface List of Contributors Reflections on the Palestinian Diaspora in Europe Abbas Shiblak, Associate Research Fellow, RSC, University of Oxford The Palestinian Diaspora: Between Nationalism and Transnationalism Helena Lindhom Schulz, Department of Peace & Development Research-PADRIGU, Goteborg University. The Impact of Immigration Policies on Palestinians in Germany Ralph Ghadban, Expert on Immigration, Berlin Caught Between Two Worlds: The Case of the Palestinian Community in Sweden Dalal AbdulGhani, University of Vaxjo, Sweden An Early Case of Migration to the UK: Problems of Adaptation and Integration Ghada Karmi, Royal Institute of International Affairs- London Cycle of Isolation: the Situation of Palestinian Refugee Women in Germany Monika Kadur and Fadia Foda, PARD- Berlin Crossing the Religious Divide: the Palestinian Community in the Canary Islands José Abu Tarbush, Associate Lecturer in Sociology, La Laguna University (Canary Islands) British Palestinians: the Transformation of an Exiled Community Lina Mahmoud, University of London Towards the Preservation of Palestinian National Identity Sharif Kanaana, Bir Zeit University Translation and the Palestinian Diaspora Ibrahim Muhawi, Edinburgh University Adaptation Without Assimilation: Palestinian Youths in France and Germany Pénélope Larzillière, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales- Paris Palestinians in Greece; Same Sense of Belonging, Diverse Communities Salma A. Shawa, London University, LSE Physical Return, Virtual Return: The Palestinian Diaspora and the Homeland Sari Hanafi, Director of Shaml Palestinian Refugees in Europe: A Palestinian Perspective Sulafa Hijjawi, Director of the Palestinian Planning Centre-Gaza Index 2 Preface The papers which make up this book were presented at a workshop held at the Middle East Centre at St. Anthony’s College, University of Oxford, between 5th and 6th May 2000, but were later revised and updated. The papers by H.Schulz and S. Shawa were added later. The workshop on ‘Palestinian Communities in Europe’ was organised jointly by the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) at the University of Oxford and the Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Centre (Shaml) in Ramallah. I would like to express my gratitude to the Organising Committee members for their efforts and invaluable help. In particular, I am thankful to Dr. Eugene Rogan of St. Anthony’s, Dr David Turton, the ex-Director of the RSC, Dr Dawn Chatty of the RSC, Dr. Nadje Al-Ali of Exeter, Dr. Nick Van Hear, Paul Ryder and Dominique Attala of the RSC. Also to Dr. Sharif Kanaana, the co- founder and ex-Director of Shaml and Judge Eugene Cotran, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Shaml. To Said Kamal and Ghayth Armanzi of the League of Arab States (LAS) and to Ford Foundation in Cairo, for the financial assistance which made the workshop the success that it was. I would like to extend my thanks to the indefatigable researchers who contributed to this groundbreaking workshop, to the translators: Ramsey Amin, Ihsan Al-Kharouf, Rami Cheblak and to Genevieve de Winter who went through the English text and made useful stylistic changes. Abbas Shiblak 3 Contributors Lina Mahmoud Researcher and community activist. Lina is a graduate of London University with a Masters degree in Near and Middle East Studies from SOAS. She is currently teaching Middle Eastern politics at the American University of Rome, Italy. Ibrahim Muhawi Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Publications on Palestinian and Arabic folklore and translation theory, including Speak Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales (with Sharif Kanaana, California 1989, Arabic edition--qul ya teir, IPS 2001); a translation of Mahmoud Darwish's Memory for Fortgetfulness (California 1995); chapters in various books on Arabic sociolinguistics and Arabic folklore; and articles in various journals on the Palestinian folktale and the theory of translation. Sari Hanafi A Sociologist, studied at EHESS-Paris where he graduated with a PhD. His work has focused on economic sociology and a networking analysis of Palestinian refugees. He has written on the relationships between the diaspora and the centre, on the returnees, and on conflict resolution in the post-war period. He is the author of 5 books, including: Here and There: The Palestinian Diaspora from Social and Political Perspective, 2001 (In Arabic); Between Two Worlds: Palestinian Businessmen in the Diaspora and the Construction of a Palestinian Entity, three editions, 1997 (in Arabic and in French); La Syrie des ingénieurs: Perspective comparée avec l'Egypte, 1997. He is currently editing two books on the Arab NGOs. He has also written numerous articles. Currently he is the Director of the Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Centre (Shaml). Abbas Shiblak Shiblak is a co-founder and first Director of the Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Centre (Shaml). His main focus of research is on the refugee-host relationship and the civic and legal status of refugees in the host society. He has written extensively on the status of Palestinian refugees in host Arab counties and on the Arab communities in Europe. Shiblak taught at the University of Constantine/Algeria and has worked as a senior researcher at the Palestinian Research Centre in Beirut and at the Refugee Studies Centre RSC, University of Oxford where he is presently affiliated. He is currently working on a major research project on statelessness in the Arab world, forthcoming (2003). Dalal AbdulGhani A Palestinian journalist and researcher, she completed her Masters in social science on “Social Psychology” in Sweden where she lives. She writes frequently in the local media on social affairs. Dalal has published a collection of short stories. Currently she is active in community work. 4 Fadia Foda Fadia is a journalist and has been a human rights and women activist with the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW) both in Lebanon and later in Germany where she currently lives. During the 1980s she co-founded ‘Popular Aid for Relief and Development’ (PARD) in Lebanon and was, for several years, a member of the PARD Executive Committee. In Germany she has been active in refugee affairs and with Amnesty International. She has published numerous articles dealing with the refugee issue of Palestinians in Lebanon, in other Arabic host countries and in German society. She has dealt with the obstacles of the Middle East Peace Process and in recent years has focused on Palestinian women’s issues in exile. Monika Kadur Monika is a human right activist/researcher who is engaged with the work of Amnesty International in Berlin, Germany where she lives and works. From 1975 - 1993 she was a trade union activist. Since the mid 1990s, as a member of the German Association of Free Journalists, she has published articles on the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and in the last few years has been researching and writing on the Middle East Peace Process and the situation of refugee women. In the late 1990s she co-founded ‘Masrah-Theatre’, an intercultural theatre project and is still active as a member of the Masrah Executive Committee. Helena Lindhom Schulz Schulz is an associate Professor at the Department of Peace and Development Research at Göteborg University in Sweden. She is the author of, The Reconstruction of Palestinian Nationalism: Between Revolution and Statehood, published by Manchester University Press in 1999 and of a forthcoming work on the Palestinian diaspora: The Palestinian Diaspora: Politics of Homeland and Formation of Identities, to be published by Routledge and the University of Washington Press. Ralph Ghadban Studied Philosophy at the Lebanese University where he got M.A degree in1972. Moved the same year to Berlin and studied Islamic studies at the Free University. Worked with Lebanese and Arab refugees for 18 years, 10 of them as the Director of an advice bureau for Arab asylum seekers at the Diakonisches Werk. Since 1994 he has been engaged in research work on immigration issues. Ph.D. in political science at the Free University 2000. Currently conducting research on the integration of minorities, especially Muslims in Europe. Ghada Karmi General Practitioner (GP), political activist and writer, an associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London. She is the author of, Ín Search of Fatima', (Verso Press, 2002) and two other books on the Palestine question. She has also researched and written on various aspects of the Arab communities in Britain and their engagement in public life and British politics. 5 José Abu Tarbush Associate Lecturer in Sociology, La Laguna University (Canary Islands). He teaches Sociology of Development and International Relations. Author of two books on Palestinian Question: national identity and collective action (1997) and, also in Spanish, Islam and Islamic community in Canaries: prejudices and realities (2002). Sharif Kanaana Currently Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at Birzeit University. He has occupied several teaching and administrative positions at US and Palestinian universities including President of Najah University and Director of the Birzeit Research Centre. He has authored and co-authored in Arabic and in English a large number of books, monographs, and articles on Palestinian culture, society, folklore and oral history. Pénélope Larzillière A postgraduate student at L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris Salma A. Shawa Lecturer and researcher currently living in Athens, Greece. Graduated with a Ph.D. from LSE, University of London, M.S. from the New School in New York and with a B.A. from AUC, Egypt. Research included investigating the role of Palestinian NGOs in civil society.