Aida Nasser
Elders of Palestine

This is Aida Nasser, born in Jenin, Palestine, in 1934. As her memory begins to fade with time, she can still recite the poetry she wrote about Palestine without missing a beat. Memorized by heart, the poem she wrote was an ode to the land and the promise of return, and describes her steadfast love for Palestine and its ever-present place in her heart. Just as Aida describes, Palestine is in all our hearts. It is impossible to forget one's homeland, even if the memory only remains within a feeling. Throughout her life, the feeling of home and the longing for its embrace have persevered for Aida Nasser. While the forces of time and age are against her, she manages to hold on to moments from her childhood in Palestine, ones still vivid in her memory. Ones like her schooldays in Tulkarem that she recalls warmly, or the house she used to live in, or the home-made rice and fava beans Sarah, her nanny, used to cook for her. She says they were the best days of her life.