40 Years of Occupation: Tell Us Your Story
To mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, AAI is calling on members across the country to submit their stories about how the 1967 war and the subsequent occupation has affected their lives.
We will feature your stories and any appropriate pictures or original artwork you send to us on a commemorative page on our website to be displayed during the week of the anniversary. (If you have images or poems to submit, please email them to aaimedia@aaiusa.org and include your name, phone number, title of piece, and information about when/where they were taken or created.)
Below are some questions that may help you in crafting your story, but please feel free to include any other personal sentiments you may have.
Entries can be as short as you'd like, but please keep your entries to less than 300 words.
If you were born in Palestine (or elsewhere in the region):
- Did you live in Palestine during the 1967 war?
- Do you have family who live in the occupied territories?
- What are your feelings on the 40th anniversary? Does it have a special meaning to you?
- Have you returned to Palestine since leaving? How often do you go back?
- Is there a message you would like to send to family and friends in Palestine via your entry on our website?
- What would you like to say to your American friends and neighbors about the occupation?
If you were born in the United States:
- Tell us about your experience as an Arab American.
- What sort of meaning does the 40th anniversary hold for you, having been born outside of Palestine?
- Have you ever visited Palestine? What did visiting mean to you?
- Is there a message you would like to send to family and friends in Palestine via your entry on our website?
- What would you like to say to your American friends and neighbors about the occupation?
Note: AAI reserves the right to alter the wording of your entries for grammatical accuracy, brevity and consistency with the rest of its website, but will not change the context of your entry.