Alaa Saffouri

Alaa SaffouriAlaa Saffouri lives in East Jerusalem. She is currently working as an administrative co-ordinator at the Palestine Writing Workshop, which aims to support young writers in Palestine. She has a BA in English from Birzeit.

From The Blog
28 May 2014

All Arabs living in Jerusalem are told that they are proud Palestinians. In geography classes, they study the map of historic Palestine. In art classes, they embrace the colours of the Palestinian flag. Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock are symbols of their cultural heritage and values. The ancient Arabic names for the gates in the Jerusalem wall are engraved in their minds. Two primary colors dominate the dynamics of a Jerusalemite Arab’s identity: blue and green. In general, a blue ID card means that you can get to see the beach and a green one means you are hostile and a threat to the ‘state’.

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