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I Saw Ramallah
by Mourid Barghouti,
translated by Ahdaf Soueif, introduction by Edward Said
Winner of
the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz Medal, this
fierce and moving work is an unparalleled
rendering of the human aspects of the Palestinian
predicament.
Barred from
his homeland after 1967’s Six-Day War,
the poet Mourid Barghouti spent thirty years
in exile—shuttling among the world’s
cities, yet secure in none of them; separated
from his family for years at a time; never
certain whether he was a visitor, a refugee,
a citizen, or a guest. As he returns home
for the first time since the Israeli occupation,
Barghouti crosses a wooden bridge over the
Jordan River into Ramallah and is unable
to recognize the city of his youth. Sifting
through memories of the old Palestine as
they come up against what he now encounters
in this mere “idea of Palestine,”
he discovers what it means to be deprived
not only of a homeland but of “the
habitual place and status of a person.”
A tour de
force of memory and reflection, lamentation
and resilience, I Saw Ramallah is a deeply
humane book, essential to any balanced understanding
of today’s Middle East.
About the
Author and Translator
Mourid Barghouti
was born in the West Bank in 1944 and graduated
from Cairo University in 1967. His poems
have been published in Beirut, Amman, and
Cairo, and his collected works were published
in Beirut in 1997. He lives in Cairo.
Ahdaf Soueif
was born in Cairo and educated in Egypt
and England. She is the author of the novels
In the Eye of the Sun and The Map of Love
and the story collections Aisha and Sandpiper.
Reviews
“An
important literary event. . . . One of the
finest existential accounts of Palestinian
displacement that we now have.”
—Edward W. Said, from the Foreword
“The
most eloquent statement in English of what
it is like to be a Palestinian today. .
. . No other book so well explains the background
to recent events in Palestine/Israel.”
—The Times Literary Supplement
“Forceful,
lyrical, evocative. . . . A wonderful read.”
—The Washington Report on Middle East
Affairs
“Stirring.
. . . Poignant. . . . Compelling. . . .
I Saw Ramallah is a magnificent addition
to world literature. It is picturesque and
lifelike. Its evocative images touch, move,
and inspire.”
–Middle East Studies Association Bulletin
“Marvelous.
. . . A beautifully constructed and moving
memoir.”
–Al-Ahram Weekly
“An
honest and lyrical account from the Palestinian
Diaspora. . . . This book describes in detail
the damage done to the Palestinian people
in the most beautiful prose. . . . Because
of his frankness and calm tone, Barghouti
has ensured that this life story will stay
with the reader a long time after all the
shouting and politicking stops.”
–Cairo Times
“A
rare memoir. . . . Humane and eloquent.”
–In These Times
Related Links
Too
Long in Exile - A Personal Tribute from
Edward Said (condensed version of his Introduction
to the book)
Shades
of Green - A Profile of Mourid Barghouti
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