In this episode of the Save The Olive Tree Podcast, I have the honor of talking with Professor Ramsey Hanhan. Ramsey Hanhan is a Palestinian Christian who was born and raised under occupation the West Bank and speaks about his experience in his autobiographical debut “fugitive dreams”. This book outlines and chronicles his experience as a Palestinian living under occupation and what he went through on a day-to-day basis. It is a real eye-opening experience to hear firsthand what living under occupation is like.
We discuss:
1. His parents who born in the 1930s in Yaffa and them going through the Nakba.
2. His early years where his mother would catch him playing pretend protests.
3. Going through JFK and on immigration forms his parents wrote Palestine, and the officer had them fill out a stateless form.
4. What is travel like in and out of the occupied territories.
5. Describing the first Intifada and what Palestinian resistance means to him.
6. Helping the listener understand what life with the settlers is like.
7. Message for Christian Zionists who support occupation.
8. What are the futue hopes he would like his daughter to see?
9. Message that Palestine is a story of occupation and tragedy but also of hope and resistance.
Guest Bio:
Professor Ramsey is a Palestinian American author. His autobiographical debut, Fugitive Dreams, which I have here is a personal journey through the last five decades of the Palestinian experience. His short stories and poetry have appeared in various publications. He also speaks publicly about Palestine. Professor Ramsey was formerly a physics professor noted for his computer models that describe and predict complexity in nature. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and resides near Baltimore, Maryland.
