Achilli, Luigi (2012) Does the political bore?: The denial and camouflage of the "political" in a Palestinian refugee camp. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/15629 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Does the political bore? The denial and camouflage of the “political” in a Palestinian refugee camp LUIGI ACHILLI Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Social Anthropology YEAR 2012 Department of Anthropology and Sociology School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1 Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ____________________________ Date: _________________ 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is an investigation into the significance of the “ordinary” in the process of political self-fashioning in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan called Al-Wihdat. The goal of this thesis is to document how refugees living in Al Wihdat receive and respond to nationalistic messages about Palestinian identity more than 60 years after the establishment of the first refugee camp in Jordan. When I first moved to Al-Wihdat, I expected Palestinian refugee camps to be highly politicized spaces. Except for occasional political demonstrations and events, however, neither the political turmoil in Gaza and the West Bank, nor the constant footage of the Palestinian struggle in the Arab media, roused refugees out of what they described as the ordinary course of daily life in the camp. In contrast, my engagement with camp- dwellers showed me that refugees’ remaking of their social world was carried out by striving to live what they described as an “ordinary life” (hayā ‘ādiyye): by working, praying, relaxing, watching football matches, surfing the internet, or idling in barber shops, for example. I argue that the performative and reiterative dimensions of ordinary activities have not precluded refugees from feeling an affinity for many of the meanings, ideals, and values of Palestinian nationalism. On the contrary, infusing nationalism with daily interests and needs has allowed people to recapture the meanings, values and promises of Palestinian nationalism from the inflexible interpretations provided by a sclerotic political system in Gaza and the West Bank. At the same time, such process of accommodation has also afforded them the possibility of living what they refer to as being an “ordinary life”. 3 To my daughter, Mariangela 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is my great pleasure to thank all the people without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the community of Al- Wihdat, which welcomed me with warm hospitality, endless generosity and delicious food. Rarely have I encountered such kindness and eagerness to help someone who was, at first, a stranger. A special thanks to the shabāb of Al-Markez and the Nadi Al-Wihdat, where I spent a large part of my days in Jordan. Without their help I would not have been able to carry out this research. They treated me like a brother, opened their homes to me, and taught me everything I know about daily life in Wihdat. They told me stories about Palestine, their families and the camps, and had infinite patience with my less-than-perfect Arabic. To them goes my eternal gratitude. I am particularly thankful to Jihad Nijem, who assisted me during my initial visits into the Camp and still helps me now, as a priceless source of intellectual guidance and practical support. Most importantly, he is a real friend. I mention with appreciation Abdallah Hussein and his family, whose help and friendship have been precious in so many ways. I also thank Mohammed Assaf, whose good humour and knowledge of Al-Wihdat were invaluable to this project. I am greatly indebted to Rami, Abdallah Sous, Najar, Haddad, and all other shabāb and their families – whose names are too many to mention here but are firmly fixed in my memory – who so kindly and patiently accompanied me in my pilgrimages to the Camp and let me into their daily lives. To Griso, who taught me the secrets of the nous ras kharouf; and to Anas, who shared with me his passion for homing pigeons. I am indebted to the people of the mouq‘e al-wihdat, with a special thanks to Ibrahim and his family for hosting me and feeding me what must be the best mansaf in Jordan. I also want to thank my friends in the Souf Camp. A number of people were extraordinarily giving, and I especially owe gratitude to the Al-Jwabreh family, and in particular to Mohammed, whose humour and companionship enriched this study. 5 I am profoundly grateful for my mentors and teachers. Foremost among them is Magnus Marsden, who has made the undertaking of this project both a tremendous challenge and a true pleasure. His commentary, critique and advice have made this thesis infinitely better. I hope I have been able to incorporate his broad scope of knowledge and keen analysis in my dissertation. I’d like to thank Jalal Husseini, my intellectual mentor in the field and a dear friend, for whom there are no adequate words to express my gratitude. I also give my deep and sincere thanks to Laleh Khalili: her ability to combine incisive critique with supportive comments has been of great value to me. Samuli Schielke's advice, patient readings, and feedbacks of my drafts were essential to this research. I owe Raymond Apthorpe a special thanks for the time he has so generously spent on my thesis and his enormously encouraging feedback. My friends and colleagues at SOAS have encouraged me, shared their knowledge with me, and greatly helped me with their erudition and sharp criticism. Among them, I would like to especially thank Diana Ibanez, whose friendship (and correspondence) during my fieldwork and after it enriched my research and ethnographic experience, helping to resolve my doubts, academic conundrums and a PhD’s particular life challenges. To Melania Savino, friend and colleague, who has shared with me the hardships and pleasures of carrying out doctoral research. Since our first departmental meeting, Trevor Marchand has been a supportive and challenging interlocutor. Thanks to Gabriele vom Bruck who offered so much encouragement. My gratitude also goes to Tony Baum and all those who have participated to the Post-Fieldwork seminars, whose academic engagement has been invaluable during the long write-up process. In Jordan, I am indebted to Norig Neveau and Lucas Oesch. They have been and still are the perfect companions for entertainment, academic exchange, and all-around amusement. I am extremely grateful to Myriam Ababsa for her suggestions and 6 comments as well as for the fabulous dinners in the company of her two beautiful children, Alia and Jad. To Leila Jasusi, my Arabic teacher. She worked hard to inculcate in me some fluency with the Palestinian dialect. Her efforts afforded me the opportunity to understand people better and to make myself better understood. I must thank my friend Selma El-Tawil who helped me to secure permission to do research in the Camp and to navigate its bureaucracy. I would like also to thank Hisham Kassim and Kate Touchton-Leonard for the wonderful time and interesting discussions we had together. In writing this thesis, I am also in debt to Merry Stricker: her unstinting support, sincere friendship, and linguistic skills have been important to me and this project. I am also particularly grateful to Alessa Airaghi for her generous hospitality and friendship, and Leegoo Guo for helping me secure lodging on the countless days I spent roaming between London and Milan. In Amman, a special thanks goes to the staff and researchers of the Institut Français du Proche Orient (IFPO) and to Carol Palmer, director of the British Institute in Amman, who provided extremely valuable support in the organization of the Workshop “Living, Planning and Managing a Lasting Temporariness”, held in Amman on 7 March 2012. I was fortunate to be invited to participate to a symposium and a working group organized by Véronique Bontemps, Philippe Bourmaud, Daniel Meyer, and Cyril Roussel. Thanks to them for these stimulating opportunities. Part of this research has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the “Borsa di studio di perfezionamento all’estero”, funded by the Università degli Studi di Milano. During my fieldwork and in the writing phase, I was also fortunate to be supported by the “School of Oriental and African Studies Student Research Fund”, “Central Research Fund scholarship”, “SOAS Postgraduate Awards for Fieldwork”, “Council for British Research in the Levant Travel Grant”, “IFPO Bourse de Courte durée”, and the “SOAS Alumni and Friends Fund”.