As a Palestinian student, I am submitting a paper that uses an ethnographic study to argue that the deliberate denial of Palestinian intergenerational trauma and the subsequent responses of Palestinian youth provide crucial insights as the study of intergenerational trauma in Asian American diasporas grows. The ways in which Palestinian communities maintain cultural memory, resist erasure, theorize global orders, and stand against oppression offer lessons on resilience that can inspire new approaches to understanding trauma. This study contributes to a rethinking of trauma studies, centering insights from the Global South and aligning with Indigenous perspectives to challenge dominant Western narratives of denial and erasure.
The Nakba of 1948, marking the start of Palestinian displacement and systemic erasure, casts a profound shadow on subsequent generations. Drawing from my lived experiences, , I first build upon Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism, Lama Khouri and Lara Sheehi’s work on intergenerational memory and the psychosocial impact of dispossession, Noura Erakat’s legal perspectives, Samah Jabr’s work on trauma and memory, and Khawla Abu-Baker’s emphasis on family narratives to articulate the role of "جيل مُنْتصَب القامة" (those who stand tall), and how Palestinian youths exposure to intergenerational trauma, ongoing genocide, and systemic violence has deepened their resilience and shaped their identity and perception of the global order. Through interviews with Palestinian youth and Nakba survivors, I establish that "جيل مُنْتصَب القامة" cultivate a sense of resilience despite and because of what Richard Waugaman describes as Western denial of Palestinian trauma, existence, and stories. Our generation has transmuted our trauma and intergenerational memories into “affective solidarity,” a term coined by Ather Zia, describing emotional and political bonds transcending geographical boundaries. The way Palestinian youth have been able to actively cultivate this solidarity and commitment to Palestinian liberation serves as inspiration for how Asian-American diasporas should explore not only reorienting themselves in relationship to Palestinian diasporas but also working through intergenerational trauma.