Migrant Odyssey – Episode Summary

Podcast: Migrant Odyssey
Host: Stephen Barden
Episode Title: Maqluba: the upside down dish that is life on the West Bank
Release Date: June 5, 2024

Main Theme

This episode centers on life in the West Bank under Israeli occupation, focusing on the personal journey and reflections of Firas, a Palestinian organizer and founding curator of the Global Shapers Bethlehem Hub. Through the metaphor of the Palestinian dish maqluba ("upside down"), the discussion explores the daily challenges, resilience, cultural resistance, and psychological impacts of occupation on Palestinians. With co-host Zoya, herself of Palestinian-Ukrainian heritage and a former refugee, the conversation moves from personal memory to collective struggle, touching on themes of dehumanization, community, resistance, loss, and hope.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Firas’s Story: Growing Up in Occupied Palestine

• Early Life and Changing Hopes (01:52–04:15)
  • Firas was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Hebron amidst expectations that shifted with political changes, feeling a brief hope post-Oslo accords and deepening despair after the Second Intifada.
  • “You start to see there is hope, there is no hope. … And you see the situation outside. And being outside, for me, it's the first time like looking at the situation from outside. So I really like, I feel numb. You don't know how do you feel?” (04:29, Firas)

2. Living "Upside Down" Under Occupation

• The Maqluba Metaphor and Daily Life (06:50–10:11)

  • The experience of daily life is compared to maqluba, where everything is turned "upside down."
  • Routine movements are disrupted by settlements and military checkpoints, making normal activities (like commuting to university or work) a logistical and emotional challenge.
  • “So everything is upside down. … If you want to survive, and this is how we survive in Palestine, like we start to think … upside down, because we have no other solution.” (06:50, Firas)

• Working Across Borders, Existential Irony (10:11–11:42)

  • Firas describes the irony of paying taxes, insurance, and pension contributions in Israel but receiving no benefits, all the while facing hours-long waits at crossings.
  • International workers can breeze through; Palestinian workers endure hours of crowding and biometric checks.

3. The Impact of Settlements and Systemic Violence

• Settlers, Land, and Annexation (13:53–16:36)
  • Israeli settlements encircle Palestinian cities, stifling expansion and subjecting inhabitants to attacks and intimidation—supported or ignored by authorities.
  • Recent state actions (e.g., formal annexation of parts of Hebron) intensify threats of displacement.
  • “It's a systematic ethnic cleansing, you know. … Now thousands of Palestinians … will be forced to leave because they will start attacking them again.” (15:59, Firas)

4. Creative Resistance and Cultural Resilience

• Eco-Resistance: Planting, Culture, and Land (17:02–18:55)

  • Palestinians respond to ecocide (destruction of olive trees and land) with eco-resistance and resilience: planting trees, cultural gatherings, and celebrating heritage.
  • “We try to do this eco resistance by planting more trees, doing events on the land. We try to make our connection with the land stronger…” (17:02, Firas)

• Culture as Survival: Dance, Song, and Coexistence (19:48–21:34)

  • Despite adversity, Palestinians use traditions—dabke dance, music, embroidery, cuisine—to resist and affirm identity.
  • “If you cannot resist by having your country's army, we resist by our food, by raising awareness about our culture, our history…” (19:48, Firas)

5. Unity Through Shared Struggles and Diaspora Division

• Connection Across Borders, Yet Divided by Reality (22:18–27:06)

  • Living under occupation normalizes the abnormal. Despite being divided geographically and culturally, shared suffering creates instant bonds between Palestinians worldwide.
  • Zoya shares feeling ‘less authentic’ due to a different form of struggle as a diaspora Palestinian.
  • “It's not like a competition between the struggles. And our pure focus needs to be on occupation rather than on what are the things that differentiate the Palestinians.” (26:15, Zoya)

• Support Circles and Community Healing (27:06–27:36)

  • Initiatives like the Palestinian Sharing Circles foster solidarity and mental health by sharing experiences.

6. The Psychological Impact: Colonization of the Mind

• Adopting Oppressor Behaviors (28:45–34:04)

  • Stephen raises a critical question: Do the colonized internalize the logic and behaviors of colonizers?
  • Zoya and Firas discuss “decolonizing the mind”—recognizing the subtler, psychological blurring of lines between oppressor and oppressed, and resisting assimilation through language and culture.
  • “Sometimes, like, the colonies come, they bring their own cultures, their own language, and then without even us noticing, we start using them even after they leave.” (29:30, Zoya)

• Outsourcing Occupation and Erosion of Democracy

  • Firas critiques the outsourcing of basic services and authority to the Palestinian Authority, which has become complicit and entrenched.
  • “They did outsourcing for these services by bringing … the Palestinian Liberation Organization, to deal with these Palestinians … it's a free outsourcing service.” (31:48, Firas)
  • A lost generation deprived of democratic experience is highlighted as a long-term psychological consequence.

7. Learning, Conflict Management, and Hope

• Academic Frustration and Redefining Conflict (36:09–39:16)

  • Firas contextualizes his studies in conflict management: “it’s not me against you, it’s me and you against occupation.”
  • “A lot of conflict management or conflict resolution … should be rooted in the humanizing of the parties, of both parties.” (38:12, Stephen)

• Generational Change and Optimism (39:51–41:24)

  • Global youth protests provide hope for solidarity and change.
  • “I am very optimistic with the current movement all over the world. … Everyone is supporting the Palestinian, not because they love them, because … it’s the freedom.” (41:24, Firas)

8. Global Movement and the Changing Narrative

• Student Encampments, From Local to Global (41:31–42:37)
  • Palestinian solidarity now spans borders, with encampments and protests cropping up at universities worldwide.
  • Zoya reflects on the profound change of seeing such a global movement take root:
    • “If you told us two years ago … there’s going to be a global movement for Palestinians, we wouldn’t have believed that…” (42:37, Zoya)

9. "Home" and Belonging

• The Untranslatable Feeling of Home (43:28–44:49)
  • Firas, asked what home means to him, describes an unshakable emotional bond.
  • “For me, for me is Palestine. For me is where I grew up. For me, where, despite the occupation … I feel safe, like in. In Palestine. And I think this is where I feel home.” (43:37, Firas)
  • There’s a sense of belonging “with” rather than “to” Palestine, a nuance that transcends geography or circumstance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"Everything is upside down. So if you need, if you want to survive, and this is how we survive in Palestine, like we start to think up in this way, upside down, because we have no other solution."

• Firas, on daily survival under occupation (06:50)

"For me, in the Palestinian, Israeli context, like, I don't. Like, it's not a conflict between just two normal human beings, like a Palestinian and Israeli. No, it's not me against you. It's me and you against the occupation, against the oppression, against the genocide…"

• Firas on conflict management (36:57)

"If you told us two years ago … there’s going to be a global movement for Palestinians, we wouldn’t have believed that … But this is something that’s really, really, like, hopeful."

• Zoya, on the rapid growth of global solidarity (42:37)

"For me, for me is Palestine. For me is where I grew up. For me, where, despite the occupation, the situation, the settlement, I feel I feel safe, like in. In Palestine. And I think this is where I feel home."

• Firas, on the meaning of "home" (43:37)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• Firas’s Early Life & Oslo Accords: 01:52–04:15
• Emotional Toll Post-Oct 7: 04:15–05:37
• The "Upside Down" Metaphor & Daily Restrictions: 06:50–10:11
• Checkpoint Reality & Inequality: 10:11–12:36
• Settlements and Systemic Violence: 13:53–16:36
• Creative/Eco-Resistance: 17:02–18:55
• Cultural Resilience and Weddings: 19:48–21:34
• Diaspora, Unity, and Support Circles: 22:18–27:06
• Colonization of the Mind: 28:45–34:04
• Conflict Studies & Optimism: 36:09–41:24
• Global Youth Solidarity: 41:31–42:37
• Meaning of Home: 43:28–44:49

Tone and Language

The episode is candid, often emotional, and infused with a mix of sadness, pride, and resolute optimism. Firas and Zoya speak with warmth and vulnerability, while Stephen provides gentle, thoughtful prompts. The language moves seamlessly between the deeply personal, the analytical, and the anecdotal, always maintaining a sense of shared humanity and hope.

Conclusion

This episode of Migrant Odyssey offers an intimate window into the daily challenges, psychological burdens, and indomitable resilience of Palestinians living under occupation. Through personal narrative, metaphor, and reflection, Firas, Zoya, and Stephen bring to light the complexity of Palestinian identity—grounded in both suffering and celebration, resistance and belonging—while illustrating how local hope is finding new resonance on a global stage.