This piece is the first of UNRWA USA’s Hakawati (storyteller) initiative dedicated to highlighting stories of Palestine refugees, UNRWA, and communities in solidarity.

We are thrilled to welcome Suzzane Husseini as our first ever UNRWA USA Hakawati! Suzanne is a chef, television host, and author of a bestselling cookbook. She hosted one of the most popular Arab cooking shows in the Middle East called ‘Sohbe Taibe’ and is a regular contributor to several publications around the world, frequently traveling internationally as a featured food presenter. Suzanne lives between Dubai and Ottawa with her husband and three children.

Suzanne dedicates her first UNRWA USA Hakawati piece to her father.

*Suzzane Husseini is UNRWA USA’s first Hakawati*

With Father’s Day being right around the corner, I’ve been recalling memories of my dad.

Like so many Palestinians looking for a place to plant roots and call home, my father searched for that all his life. Home for him was an elusive notion but always within reach. Having a safe haven for his family was a given but making it resemble the ‘B’lad’ (homeland) was another challenge.

My dear father, Qasem Mahmud, was born in the beautiful port city of Haifa, Palestine, in 1933 and was the eldest of four boys. At a young age, his father (my grandfather) moved the family to the small village of Bourin near the much larger and bustling Nablus where he and his siblings grew up. My father grew up knowing the value of an education and rode his bike 11 miles every day to Nablus to school to pursue his dreams.

When I learned about the UNRWA USA University Scholarship Fund, I remembered the countless stories my father would tell us about his bicycle journey to school. Education is such an important pillar within Palestinian society. It’s a responsibility for all of us to support today’s Palestine refugee students in continuing their studies.

My father’s hard work led him to graduate from Cairo and become an electrical engineer. After marrying my mother, they moved to Kuwait and began raising their children.

A timely visit to see his cousin in Canada would forever change our lives. He could see the potential of moving after having been presented with two options: Canada or Australia (he eventually chose the former). Immigration papers were sent and my father flew ahead of us to Canada. My mother took the opportunity to go to Palestine to visit and say goodbye to her family with her children in 1967.

The visit ended with us taking cover in a shelter as the 1967 war broke out. As is the case for all Palestinians, the experience left a scar never forgotten. We finally made our escape after spending a couple of months in Jordan. We flew via France and were eventually relieved to find my father waiting for us in Canada. Canada, our new home away from our beloved home: Palestine.

My experience with displacement was minimal compared to what many Palestine refugees went through. With more than 5.6 million Palestine refugees scattered throughout the Levant, it is important to credit UNRWA for being a source of relief, development, and education to the Palestinian people.

What happened in 1967, along with my father’s journey, defined who I became. When we immigrated to Canada, many family and friends were sad to see my father go and would routinely ask him, “When will you come back to live in the Arab world?” and he always had one answer that he repeated over the years: “I will return when Palestine is liberated.” Those profound words shaped my perspective as a Palestinian Canadian, forever longing for the right to return to our homeland, a right guaranteed by U.N. Resolution 194.*

Despite us becoming part of the larger Palestinian diaspora, it didn’t stop my father from living a full life in our newly adopted home. Brimming with a generous spirit, he was a pioneer in his community and established and ran an Arabic school teaching language and culture to Arab youth.

One of his biggest achievements was facilitating the purchase of a large campsite on a lake where he launched many organized camps to bring children closer to their roots while in harmony with nature. He always felt that we are keepers and custodians of the earth and that we should respect it.

I can still see him in my mind standing on top of the hill overlooking Bob’s Lake, amazed by the glory of its beauty and always punctuated by his comparison of the beauty of Palestine. The sea, the mountains, the valleys, the figs, the olive groves - he told us the stories of all things that he recalled from his childhood and it was obvious that the camp was something that brought him closer to that dream that was still so vivid in his mind.

There are little moments that regularly remind me of my father. He would peek in while I’m preparing Knafeh Nabulsiya (his favorite dessert) and tell me that he never can forget the true taste of Knafeh in Nablus.

In solidarity with Palestine and my father, I am honored to partner with UNRWA USA as their summer Hakawati (Arabic word for storyteller) to help raise awareness about UNRWA’s crucial work for refugees in the region. Let us create a world where Palestine refugees thrive. In honor of this Father’s Day, I will be making Knafeh and remembering the man who instilled in me pride in my heritage and everlasting love and yearning for Palestine.

*Suzzane's Father with Knafeh Nabulsiya*

*The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 194, resolving that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”

To My Baba, on Father’s Day

Diala‘s Diary: Welcome to Palestine

A Son's Tribute on Mother's Day