From MECA's enewsletter on May 15, 2014. Read the full enewsletter.

From MECA's enewsletter on May 15, 2014. Read the full enewsletter.

Each year, Palestinians commemorate the Nakba on May 15.  Nakba means “catastrophe” in Arabic and it is the word Palestinians use to describe the massive uprooting, terror, destruction and ethnic cleansing that Zionist forces carried out in order to create a Jewish majority state. Today Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinian children and injured and arrested several more while Palestinians commemorat the Nakba.

Officially, this is the 66th anniversary of the Nakba but it actually began in 1947, before the “Arab-Israeli War.” That year, 250,000 Palestinians—more than 25% of the population—were driven from their land and their homes. A total of 800,000 Palestinians were driven out or fled in terror; 531 villages were destroyed.

For Palestinian refugees there are two powerful symbols of the Nakba.  Many still hold the keys to their original homes, which are handed down from one generation to the next.  The keys represent the hope and the commitment to realizing the right of return. The other symbol is the tent, which is part of the refugees’ past, present and a constant threat. In 66 years, Palestinian refugee camps have grown enormously. The tents were replaced by tiny cement rooms, with each family crowded into a single room with no bathroom. Now there are densely built houses with no place to expand but up to accommodate new generations. The original Nakba continues when the Israeli military bombs homes in Gaza, when the Israeli government carries out “administrative demolitions” of homes throughout East Jerusalem; when stateless Palestinians, along with Syrians, flee the tragic war in Syria and are forced to survive again in tents in neighboring countries.  

At MECA, we have always stood with the people holding the keys and struggling for their right of return.  And our work has always been focused on those surviving in tents or living with the reality or the threat of displacement—especially children.  Today, we join Palestinians all around the world to commemorate the Nakba and renew our commitment to refugees in Palestine and throughout the Middle East. We know that justice is only possible when the right of return becomes a reality.