Palestinian Refugee Youth: Reproduction of Collective Memory of the Nakba

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine collective memory reproduction of the Nakba (the Catastrophe) among Palestinian refugee youth. The collective memory reproduction of the Nakba was evaluated using an index containing 27 items developed by the researchers, which was administered to three-hundred-and-seventy-four participants in refugee camps in the West Bank. The findings revealed that Palestinian refugee youth preserved a strong collective memory of the Nakba. The statistics revealed that gender, parents' educational level, exposure to violence perpetrated by the Israelis, and grade point average (GPA), were significant predictors of collective memory reproduction of the Nakba. Traumatic experiences are not being erased, as older refugees may die, but the youth will never forget. As these refugees continue to be deprived of the right to return to the territory where their ancestors had lived until they were violently expelled from the area, the collective memory reproduction of the Nakba grows stronger. The implications of the findings for practice are discussed in the study report.