Portrait by Aya Saleh
Parallel Story #10
Unknown Woman and Ibtisam Barakat
? to Palestine?
Palestine to the USA
This parallel story was put forward by the Jerusalem Center for Women for Movement
Ibtisam has been paired with an ‘unknown woman’ because due to the Israeli occupation, it is unsafe for women in Palestine to share their stories.
Ibtisam’s Story
I am from Jerusalem and grew up in Ramallah under Israeli military occupation. As a Palestinian I was forced to live as an immigrant/refugee in my own homeland. One dies a thousand times a day living as a slave to people with guns and also to those in the sexist patriarchy.
So I immigrated to the USA at the age of 22. I went alone, but had with me a great desire to succeed as a female and as a Palestinian Arab. I love my identities not because they set me apart from others who don’t belong to them, but because they point to the diverse, multiple expressions of humanity’s genius to produce endless cultures.
My memoir “Tasting the Sky, a Palestinian Childhood” won many awards and is being read and taught in many countries and languages across the world. My most recent book in Arabic “The Lilac Girl” (الفتاة الليلكية) just won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for creativity in writing for young readers.
Emigrating gave me my right to move, to find myself, and to help in humanity’s quest for voice for all.
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The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Herstory and the Jerusalem Center for Women and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Anna Lindh Foundation or the European Union. www.annalindhfoundation.org