Rukiya: Foreign Empires and the Palestinian Nakba
摘要
This chapter explores the history of the Al-Sana tribe as Naqab Bedouin members of the Tiyaha Confederation during the twentieth century. First, it explores the complexities of the term “tribe” along with lineage and kin-based affiliations in the Naqab. Particular attention is given to how the concept is treated in Bedouin dialect and contextualized by academic literature and local oral histories. By doing so, it aims to socio-politically “frame” Rukiya’s stories of activism. It then goes on to describe the history of the Tiyaha and Al-Sana during the Ottoman and British Mandate Periods, specifically detailing the political work and resistance of Rukiya’s family and legacy. This chapter then presents Rukiya’s remembrances of the Nakba and the forced displacement and dispossession of her tribe by the state of Israel during this time. We conclude that both Rukiya’s acts of resistance during the Nakba and video testimony about her experiences are a form of sumud that focuses on preserving collective memories and the political legacy of her tribe.