A Palestinian refugee’s return home

Published on November 30, 2021

 

Mona Hajjar Halaby (LGB, 1971) recently wrote a book about her experience teaching conflict resolution to children in Palestine who suffer from anxiety and PTSD as a result of the occupation of the West Bank. As the daughter of a Palestinian refugee who fled the country in 1948, Mona relates her emotions as she discovers her family’s home and the traditions of her motherland. In My Mother's Footsteps: A Palestinian Refugee Returns Home (Thread Books, UK) is not only a personal story but takes a deeper meaning in the current refugee crisis context: “ No matter what brought you to leave your country with the unwanted status of refugee, I stand with you in solidarity. "

Mona knows the feeling of having to leave everything behind as she arrived in Switzerland in 1961 from Egypt. She and her family were political refugees and the uprooting was traumatic for the young girl, but she found a haven in Ecolint. 

Mona now lives in Berkeley, CA, she is an educator, writer and social historian.

Other news

Edmond H. Fischer and La Châtaigneraie

November 30, 2021
La Châtaigneraie has flourished and expanded spectacularly since it became part of the International School of Geneva in 1974, but its pre-Ecolint existence was distinguished in its own right. Founded in 1908 as the Ecole Nouvelle du Léman / de la Châtaigneraie (both names were employed), it was from the start co-educational (which was highly unusual at the time), with a noble vocation of inclusio

Elizabeth Frank Ecolint notable alumni

December 15, 2021
Elizabeth Frank Ecolint notable alumni