Nabeel: The dentist, the fighter, the realist

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“There is no refugee who can forget their country. They all have elpida [the Greek word for hope], that at some point they will return. My grandmother lived all her life in Syria temporarily… She always hoped that she would return and be buried in Palestine,” says Nabeel. Nabeel is 40 years old, a third generation Palestinian refugee. His grandparents fled in 1948 to Syria and Nabeel was born in Yarmouk, at a refugee camp in the outskirts of Damascus. A dentist by profession , he had a prosperous life in Yarmouk. “It’s difficult to describe life in Yarmouk. I lived in the main commercial street where people were coming to shop, to eat, to have fun. A very vibrant city that never slept ; everything from shops to taverns were open round the clock,” he says. It’s obvious that he misses home but as he says: “There’s no time to feel nostalgic. There are so many pressing issues that need to be addressed that I have no time to miss the life I once knew, my home or my family which is now scattered at all places in the world.” But immediately after his emotions prevail and says with a spark in his eyes: “Last week my sister came to visit us from Saudi Arabia. I didn’t see her for the last five years. She stayed for five days. It was awesome, but days passed so quickly,” he added nostalgically. After the family fled, their house was looted. “ A rosary ( a masbahar) is the only thing that I brought with me from Syria. It was a present from a friend. When you leave it’s difficult to decide what to take; everything you have in the house is related to a memory. For example, for me what is of priceless value is a very cheap bed that I bought when my eldest daughter was born. Probably those who took my house have thrown the bed away,” he says. “I really hope that the war in Syria will end soon, no more lives will be lost and no more destruction. God gave us life and we should preserve it. Day by day is becoming more difficult to return. But I hope I will be able at one point to go back and help in re- building the country,” he says.

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Published to Youtube on: 02/06/2015

Archived on: 08/10/2025

Original URL (may no longer be available): https://youtube.com/watch?v=ijaI5_wZXzQ