Promises
Last week we watched the documentary Promises. I think watching the documentary confirmed my ultimate goal of becoming a journalist fluent in Arabic. Not only would I be able to get access to stories an English speaking journalist would not be able to, but I would be able to reconnect with a part of my past I was never really able to explore. My grandfather’s family is from Lebanon, a country as synonymous with the history of the Middle East as Palestine or even, albeit arguably, Jerusalem. It is also a country that conjures up images of civil war, crumbling white towers, and ruined costal cites that had once been known around the world as the last glittering Edens of the Middle East. It is the Lebanon I know. The Lebanon my ancestors knew is no more. My grandfather has only revealed that part of his past, the past we share, in hushed conversations that left me feeling as if my past began not long ago, on the coast of Lebanon, but here in America. For whatever reason, he has smothered that part of his past and neglected to share it with me. I don’t know whether it was motivated out of fear or shame, but I feel as if a connection we could have had has been lost. I don’t fully blame him, as he forged his fortunes in America, but watching Promises only reignited my desire to soon travel to Lebanon and search for those who share my name, my blood.
Question: What is the current state of negotiation between Israel and Palestine?
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