In Your Eyes a Sandstorm: Ways of Being Palestinian

Who are the Palestinians? In this compelling book of interviews, Arthur Neslen reaches beyond journalistic clichs to let a wide variety of Palestinians answer the question for themselves. Beginning in the present with Bisan and Abud, two traumatized children from Jenins refugee camp, the books narrative arcs backwards through the generations to come full circle with two elderly refugees from villages that the children were named after. Along the way, Neslen recounts a history of land, resistance, exile, and trauma that begins to explain Abuds wish to become a martyr and Bisans dream of a Palestine empty of Jews. Senior Fatah and Hamas figures relate key events of the Palestinian experiencethe Second Intifada, Oslo Process, First Intifada, Thawra, 1967 War, the Naqba, and the Great Arab Revolt of 1936in their own words. The extraordinary voices of women, children, farmers, fighters, drug dealers, policeman, doctors, and others, spanning the political divide from Salafi Jihadists to Israeli soldiers, bring the Palestinian story to life even as their words sow seeds of hope in the scorched Palestinian earth.