Yara’s Journal

Summary

• Yara recalls a memory with her Teta (grandmother) on the rooftop, surrounded by laundry and vegetable patches, as Teta waters the plants and shares the story of the nakba.
• Teta recounts the day they were given thirty minutes by Israeli soldiers to leave their home after the bombing of olive trees.
• Her family moved to Balata refugee camp, initially living in a small tent amid cramped conditions, with little provisions like food or water.
• Teta describes the transformation from tents to concrete block huts, along with the installation of water sources, schools, clinics, and centers in the camp.
• Teta's father cried upon their arrival to the huts, interpreting the provision of permanent structures as a sign they would never return home.
• Yara is curious about why they have never left the camp, and Teta explains her father's belief that leaving would mean giving up on their right of return to Yaffa.
• Inside, Teta presents Yara with the rusted iron key to their original home, symbolizing hope and the desire to return someday.
• Teta admits she doesn't remember Yaffa well, mostly recalling negative images, but holds on to that hope of return for future generations.
• Yara wonders if she will understand the suffering and loss, and asks Teta if a return is still possible.
• Teta reveals she still has hope that either she, her children, or future generations like Yara might return, maintaining that hope through keeping the key.
• In an emotional moment, Yara, with tears in her eyes, asks Teta to pass the key on to her mother and then to her, signaling a desire to carry on the family legacy and history.
• Teta reassures Yara, affirming the importance of preserving their stories and history against homelessness and anonymity, ensuring their past is not forgotten.