In this week’s Letter from the Editor, we were blessed to speak with Author Ramsey Hanhan, who shares his experiences growing up under the tyranny of occupation, and why the ordinary voices on the street will ultimately free Palestine.
After migrating to the United States as a teenager, Author of Fugitive Dreams Ramsey Hanhan says that his journey to escape the Israeli occupation of his country, and the subsequent journey of building a life anew in a foreign land post 9/11 was not for the faint-hearted.
Hanhan graduated from the University of Michigan with a Ph.D in Engineering. He then went on to have a fruitful career as a Physics Professor.
In 2022, Hanhan published his debut work, Fugitive Dreams, and says that he felt compelled to document his experience as a person who was “born on the wrong side of the border,” for the sake of his daughter.
For Hanhan, the experiences of the Nakba is not just for the Palestinian people, but a reminder that this can happen to anyone, anywhere. As he says, ‘never again’ should apply to injustices everywhere.
“The Nakba was not only the story of my parents, it was a present reality. Seeing the character of my country transformed under my eyes, it was only a matter of time before what little had remained for us vanished, too. If I silenced my fears, was that going to prevent them from materializing? If I kept them to myself, would that stop the transformation of the land? With talk of “Transfer” in Israel, the possibility of a repeat Nakba, driving us out of the West Bank, was all too real. I wrote of Palestine in hope of preserving the little that was left,” wrote Hanhan.
With over 11 months of genocide being carried out importunately against Palestinians as I write today, we asked Hanhan how he thinks people who are new to learning about the near-eighty year Palestinian struggle under occupation would respond to his debut novel.
“Fugitive Dreams tells the human story of Palestine over a span of five decades. What is it like for someone to be born Palestinian and to see a military occupation through their eyes? To live in exile? By following an ordinary Palestinian trying to navigate his life, the book gives readers a personal angle to which they can relate. Palestine is real for me. Occupied, yet real enough to be touched along with the stones of the sanasel, inhaled with the April wildflowers, and tasted in the za’atar, Palestine’s blend of thyme and spices,” says Hanhan.
When the Resistance attacked on October 7, Hanhan says that he was on a book tour in Palestine.
“The ongoing genocide in Gaza has taken countless lives, and severely traumatized millions more. Many around the world are only now dusting the lies from their eyes, and are eager to learn more. I was on a book tour in Palestine on October 7. I had just completed a week in Bethlehem, and had events planned in Ramallah, al-Quds al-Sharif, and elsewhere. Instead, for the rest of my stay, I heard Israeli airplanes overhead, on their way to bomb Gaza – a flight every five minutes, day and night. Every airplane, every bomb was marked for an apartment building where frightened families wondered if their turn was up,” says Hanhan.
For many of us, the horror of seeing deliberate, daily massacres of civilians live streamed by the very same victims, has been a visceral, soul-tearing exposé of the temper of our time. We asked Hanhan how the global community can stop it together, and heal together.
“In the face of their attempts to dehumanize, our best means of resistance is to assert our humanity. The humanity of Palestinians is what I aim to reveal through my writing. Palestine has a long tradition of coexistence and mutual respect between faiths. Muslim and Christian Palestinians consider ourselves one family and celebrate each other’s holidays. Church bells accompany the adhan to bid the martyrs to Allah, azza wa jall. I reflect that spirit in my book, dreaming of a Jerusalem that is open to all faiths, where we can break bread together. Both Christian and Muslim scriptures and traditions repeatedly stress that Allah bestows His mercy to those who are merciful. The height of mercy is to give voice to those whose voices are suppressed, be they children in a refugee camp or olive trees facing the bulldozers,” says Hanhan.
For Hanhan, everyone can make a difference, to call for ceasefire, to call for an end to the occupation.
“The present situation may seem daunting, but however little you can do matters. Educate yourself. Join a local group so you can be effective in your immediate community. Do not be afraid to use your voice. Vote with your money. The UN and other organizations compile lists of international corporations implicated in the genocide. Make genocide bad for business,” says Hanhan.
Notes from the Editor: Fugitive Dreams is a personal, literary exploration of five decades of the Palestinian experience by Author Ramsey Hanhan who now lives in Baltimore Maryland. To purchase his book, click here.
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