The Image of Palestine in the Narratives of Refugees: A Comparative Study of Two Refugee Camps - Qalandia in Palestine and Al Yarmouk in Syria (Arabic)

Abstract

This study presents images of Palestine in 2008 as expressed in the narratives of two groups of refugees who live in Al-Yarmouk (Syria) and Qalandia (Palestine) refugee camps. The study’s aim is not restricted to presenting a social and political documentation of the Palestinian history as narrated by 82 refugees varying in age, sex, and in their social, political and cultural backgrounds only, but it also aims at examining the refugees’ perceptions and understanding of the Palestinian history through a comparative analysis of their narratives. In its attempt to achieve a thorough understanding of the process of narratives’ formations the study makes use of conceptual frameworks on the formation of national narratives, social imaginary and the collective processes in the construction of meaning and the way in which individuals interpret and assign meaning to past events and current experiences and how these affect their future perspectives. The study also makes use of theoretical contributions about identity transformation in colonial conditions and the dynamics of power and resistance of dominant ideologies and the concepts of alienation.