Carrying Palestine’s grief
Watching homes being destroyed in Gaza was painful for Palestinians everywhere. (Ashraf AmraAPA images)
By Linda EreikatWe buried my grandmother, Muntaha – also known as Zleekha or Um Wael – in December 2017, just one month after she turned 80.
It is said that she had smoked at least one pack of cigarettes every day since she was a teenager. But her death was not caused by cigarettes or by how she had diabetes and dementia.
My grandmother lived a life filled with loss, a narrative she didn’t choose, but one given to her and her lineage because she was born a Palestinian.
Akin to disease spreading in the human body, we must understand how emotional pain is stored within our bodies and can lead to physical illness.
Our bodies become filled with two stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol when we sense danger. This puts us in “survival mode.”
Animals know how to return to a state of calm and balance shortly after going into survival mode when they are aware that there is no longer a threat.
However, humans don’t always get out of survival mode. And that causes our quality of life to weaken, our bodies to deteriorate and become more susceptible to physical illness.
Being Palestinian arguably does not allow for the body to return to homeostasis due to the consistent trauma of loss.
It’s as if we are in constant and continuous mourning.
When Gaza is getting bombed, when Palestine is under attack, and when Palestinian lives are taken, either by accidents or by state violence, it is universally felt by all Palestinians.
Read the full article in The Electronic Intifada
Linda Ereikat is a staff member with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center in San Francisco. She graduated with a master’s degree in Migration Studies from the University of San Francisco in 2020.