Chronicles Of A Refugee is a 6-part documentary series that looks at the Palestinian refugee experience over the last 60 years in its global context. The first three episodes recount the experiences of Palestinian refugees since 1947 in their own voices. The refugees take us from "Al-Nakba' (the catastrophe) in 1948 (Part I) through the repeated expulsions of Palestinians from, and by, host countries (Part II) to the various legal, social and political discrimination Palestinian refugees continue to experience (Part III). The last three episodes raise three main issues facing contemporary Palestinian refugees. The intended goal here is to open up debates revolving around Palestinian identity (Part IV); the Right of Return (Part V); and the problem of political representation (Part VI).

Filmed in 17 countries, 18 refugee camps, 36 cities, with more than 300 interviews, Chronicles of a Refugee gives voice to Palestinian Refugees displaced in 1948, as well as to their descendants. The series covers a wide range of age groups, socio-economic status, and educational levels.

Programs in the Series
1. The Nakba Dailies 79 min
Recounts the events of 1947-48 in Palestine as experienced by those who lived them. It gives voice to Palestinian parents, rural peasants and urban elites, politically engaged and average citizens. It explores how the Palestinian refugee issue was created.

2. The Daily Nakbas 89 min
Picks up the experience of Palestinian refugees worldwide in 19677 and explores the repeated expulsions of Palestinians from various countries and refugee camps from 1967 to 2007.

3. Homeland Without Identity 79 min
Zooms onto the other major defining experience of Palestinian refugees world wide over the last 60 years: legal, social and political discrimination. It looks at the Palestinian experience in the Arab and Western world. Examines how and why Palestinians are viewed from a "security" rather than a human rights perspective.

4. Identity Without Homeland 78 min
Unpacks the meaning and attributes of Palestinian identity in different parts of the world after 60 years of dispossession and refugee status. Palestinians debate the role of refugee camps, usefulness of citizenship and the effect of living outside the Arab world on Palestinian identity.

5. Talk of Return 79 min
Explores the effectiveness of work previously done for achieving the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. How Palestinian refugees around the world are responding to the ongoing failure of their own and international institutions to implement the Right of Return.

6. The Return of Talk 84 min
Examines the relationship between the representatives and the represented in a historical context, and starts a debate over the strategy for building a representative and dynamic Palestinian leadership.

Musical score by
Ramallah Underground


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