Luke Martin
Landscape of Hope and Despair
4/10/17
Landscape of Hope and Despair examines the refugee experience in Lebanon through the medium of spatial practices and identity, set against the backdrop of prolonged violence. Peteet argues that Palestinians have dealt with their experience as refugees by focusing attention on how a distinct Palestinian identity has emerged from over fifty years of refugee history. Specifically, she argues that Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon have produced an association between geography and identity which challenges some of the core ideals of the modern nation. (Peteet, 2009, p. 1) The historical perspective reveals that identities shape and change social movements, even when they are themselves …show more content…
These accords allowed the Palestinian rebels control over the camps, the ability to bear arms, and establish a resistance movement. The resistance movement gave Palestinians the space in which to conduct their social, political, and personal business without the fear of retaliation from their oppressors (Peteet, 2009, p. 132). Palestinians during this time created cultural symbols of empowerment, (the gun became the biggest form of empowerment), created political factions in which they used to shape their identity, (the PFLP and the DFLP were two of the biggest during the resistance era), and organized their camps in such a way that advancement towards their goal of retaking their homeland could be achieved (Peteet, 2009, p. 147-148). Until the resistance era, control of the camps was maintained by the armed forces of the area in which they occupied. These forces maintained strict rules about how the camps and refugees were maintained and marginalized from society. Evidence of this can be found in the checkpoints imposed on the refugees, the restrictions in political organizing, and the random acts of violence carried out by the armed militants on the camps. Peteet’s interview of a young Palestinian resistance fighter embodies the way in which this era affected the Palestinian sense of self, “This is what it means to be a Palestinian-- not to wait for others, to fight for your rights” (Peteet, 2009, p. 148).
Landscape of Hope and Despair provides readers with a glimpse of the struggle faced by the Palestinian people over the past fifty years. Their tenacity and ability to maintain and create a space for themselves through such hardship truly is inspiring. Peteet captures the ways in which these people have coped under such strict and violent regimes, all while maintaining their ties to the land they are no longer a part
Landscape of Hope and Despair
4/10/17
Landscape of Hope and Despair examines the refugee experience in Lebanon through the medium of spatial practices and identity, set against the backdrop of prolonged violence. Peteet argues that Palestinians have dealt with their experience as refugees by focusing attention on how a distinct Palestinian identity has emerged from over fifty years of refugee history. Specifically, she argues that Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon have produced an association between geography and identity which challenges some of the core ideals of the modern nation. (Peteet, 2009, p. 1) The historical perspective reveals that identities shape and change social movements, even when they are themselves …show more content…
These accords allowed the Palestinian rebels control over the camps, the ability to bear arms, and establish a resistance movement. The resistance movement gave Palestinians the space in which to conduct their social, political, and personal business without the fear of retaliation from their oppressors (Peteet, 2009, p. 132). Palestinians during this time created cultural symbols of empowerment, (the gun became the biggest form of empowerment), created political factions in which they used to shape their identity, (the PFLP and the DFLP were two of the biggest during the resistance era), and organized their camps in such a way that advancement towards their goal of retaking their homeland could be achieved (Peteet, 2009, p. 147-148). Until the resistance era, control of the camps was maintained by the armed forces of the area in which they occupied. These forces maintained strict rules about how the camps and refugees were maintained and marginalized from society. Evidence of this can be found in the checkpoints imposed on the refugees, the restrictions in political organizing, and the random acts of violence carried out by the armed militants on the camps. Peteet’s interview of a young Palestinian resistance fighter embodies the way in which this era affected the Palestinian sense of self, “This is what it means to be a Palestinian-- not to wait for others, to fight for your rights” (Peteet, 2009, p. 148).
Landscape of Hope and Despair provides readers with a glimpse of the struggle faced by the Palestinian people over the past fifty years. Their tenacity and ability to maintain and create a space for themselves through such hardship truly is inspiring. Peteet captures the ways in which these people have coped under such strict and violent regimes, all while maintaining their ties to the land they are no longer a part