Maqluba Online A Palestinian Chat Room for Arab Youth

Description

Karim created an online chat room called “Maqluba Online.” He described it as follows: “Maqluba Online” is a chat room for young men and women from Palestine—those separated by the Nakba (the 1948 catastrophe) and scattered by exile, whether they live in refugee camps or have reached the farthest corners of the globe. It is for those who have been deprived of family gatherings and the stories once told by their grandmothers. Here, we will share our personal stories and the realities of our lives with our fellow Arab youth—telling them of our steadfastness and hard work, while they share tales of heroism and hope. We will dissolve distances and erase borders and barbed wire; we will enjoy *maqluba*—our traditional dish—in our own unique, virtual way. This space will serve as a reminder of Palestine, of justice, of our shared humanity, and of the eventual restoration of our rights, no matter how much time may pass.