memory for forgetfulness august beirut 1982

The “martyr” phenomenon is, for all intents and purposes, a new one in this context. The difficult situation that Palestinian society is passing through today has pushed some Palestinians to despair. How do you explain the greater and greater number of Palestinian candidates willing to become “martyrs”? It pains me to say that the image of a Palestinian ghetto that I saw profiled in my reading of the accord has in part been verified. The terms are not attractive enough to bring along the Arabs. Nor does it constitute a path for those who call for peace.

I have said clearly, and I maintain still, that the accord does not initiate a good trajectory toward peace. My hesitations and reservations pertain to the approach and not to the principle or the objective. The opposition must demonstrate that the terms of the accords are not the limits of the Palestinian cause, or of Palestinian rights. Struggle over the accord should not call for its failure but for the improvement of the processes of negotiations with Israel. It’s all the more difficult now for me to oppose it, since it has now become a fact and one does not deny facts. I have not said that I would oppose the accord, but only that I cannot accept it. The accord does not lead to such a peace, but to a breakup of Palestinian society and its interests. My opposition to the terms of the accord is a measure of my attachment to a real peace. You have been opposed to the Declaration of Principles, but you have not joined any active opposition to the accord. The following excerpts are from an interview with Mona Naim in Le Monde, March 12-13, 1995. His most recent book in English is Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 (California, 1995). Mahmoud Darwish, a well-known Palestinian poet, resigned from the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993.

Memory for forgetfulness august beirut 1982