We Are Orphans Here

This essay really shed light on what life is like in the Shuafat Refugee Camp in Israel. Reading "We Are Orphans Here" by Rachel Kushner depicted the issues refugees of this camp face on a day to day basis. She talked about a man named Baha Nababta who was viewed almost as an unofficial mayor of the camp. Many people of the neighborhood looked up to him and came to him in their time of hardship. The way Kushner describes how the people of the camp rushed over to her merely for the fact she was accompanied by Nababta. It shows he was a beacon of hope of the people of this refugee camp and he wanted to be that for them. He wanted to bring the people of this camp together as a wholesome community. After viewing the pictures in class, I realized that my mind was picturing the situation at the camp in a destitute state. It wasn't that bad however, I still feel it isn't right that the people of this camp don't have basic necessities of life such as clean water and well built shelters. This camp stands for 50 years now and I haven't done any research on the place besides reading this essay but I hope its a better place now.