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Summary:
Must
I give
you,
reader,
the details
of my
return to the
homeland, says Hourani in his rendition of his experiences of return.
His desire to come back to see his
homeland and his mother were stronger than his opposition to
Oslo. During his meeting with
the Qa'ed as he always calls Arafat, he assures him he will continue writing
against Oslo and its subsequent peace efforts.
With great beauty he strings the
images of joy, pain and deception: the meeting with his mother and his half
brother, the shattered ideal of the homeland, the corruption around, the ill
treatment of the Palestinians by Occupation Authorities. His descriptions of the
racist treatment of Palestinians in any contact with Israelis like when crossing
the Allenby
Bridge, or entering Gaza, are very vivid and also
bothersome.
The dream of the homeland during
his estrangement becomes a sad image he has to accept if he wants to survive his
stay in
Palestine. Even his mother, who dies soon after his arrival, asks him to accept
the unexpected reality.
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