"As a child, I would ask: What is a refugee? I attended a school run by UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, and my documents always had to include proof that I was a refugee."
"Before Israel's war on Gaza, May 15, or Nakba Day, the day Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, was a unique occasion. Everyone paid attention to it, seeking out people who had lived through it to hear their stories."
"When I began working as a journalist in 2015, Nakba Day was one of the events I looked forward to covering. That year, I went along with colleagues to the Shati camp, west of Gaza City."
"Memories of my childhood in Khan Younis came flooding back: the small, crowded houses, some newly built, others still original structures. It was nice that the commemoration falls in May, with good weather."
Ruwaida Amer recounts her deep connection to the Nakba, witnessed by her grandparents in 1948 and now experienced acutely by herself as a refugee in 2025. Born in Khan Younis camp, she explains her dynamic understanding of what it means to be a refugee, shaped by her childhood experiences and her subsequent career as a journalist. Nakba Day, once a solemn commemoration peppered with stories of the past, resonates with her as she observes continuing refugee struggles, including her first visit to a refugee camp in 13 years, which stirs vivid memories of her early life.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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