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By Palestine Chronicle Workers
Ibtihaj Dawlah, 89, is a Palestinian refugee residing within the Al-Shati Refugee Camp within the besieged Gaza Strip.
She nonetheless holds on to the rusty keys to her residence, again in Palestine, at present’s Israel, 75 years following the Nakba, or ‘disaster’, when Israel was established on the ruins of the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian homeland.
Ibtihaj was born within the Palestinian metropolis of Yaffa – Jaffa – to a Palestinian father, hailing from Akka – Acre – and a Lebanese mom.
In 1948, like tons of of 1000’s of Palestinians, her household was forcibly displaced from their residence through the Nakba.
“I used to be 14 years outdated and I used to be in sixth grade on the time,” Ibtihaj started narrating her Nakba in an interview with the Palestine Chronicle. “I used to be coming residence from faculty, after we noticed trailers carrying folks sporting pink Arab hats.”
She continued, “Initially, we thought they have been members of the Iraqi military, however then, they began capturing at us, injuring my brother. Solely later we realized that these have been Zionist gangs, making an attempt to expel Palestinians from their houses.”
Though 75 years have handed since that day, the recollections of the Nakba are nonetheless vivid in Ibtihaj’s thoughts.
She remembers the main points of how her brother was shot, and was solely saved from imminent loss of life by his friends who carried him out to security.
After that incident, she and her household ran in direction of the port of Yaffa. They have been barefoot and carried nothing with them. A small boat carried them and others to Port Stated in Egypt, and later, they walked to the Sinai Desert.
“We stayed in Sinai for a few yr, then we went to the Maghazi Refugee Camp within the central Gaza Strip,” Ibtihaj says.
“A yr later, we reached the Shati camp, the place we arrange a big tent made from strengthened nylon,” she stated. “We have been among the many first Palestinians to settle on this camp. It took a very long time earlier than folks started changing their tents to homes of bricks.”
“We had nice issue getting water, and there was just one lavatory for the complete camp, so we needed to stand in very lengthy traces to make use of it,” Ibtihaj continues.
Ibtihaj additionally informed us that she feels emotional and nostalgic each time she thinks of Yaffa, town of oranges, and Akka, her father’s birthplace. Her solely want is to return there.
“I want to return to Yaffa. I’ll return even when I’ve to crawl.” 
(All Pictures: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
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