In 1948, my father's family were ethnically cleansed from their home in Jaffa. This picture was taken in Port Said, Egypt, by British authorities to prove that the family was reunified. They had gotten separated while fleeing to safety. My father is the toddler. #Nakba1948 
My grandfather died in the late 60s. He refused Egyptian citizenship, until his last day he believed they're going to go back home. My grandmother died in the 1980s in Egypt.
The two girls in the photo are my aunts, Itaf and Mahasen. They're both no longer with us. My elder aunt would get married and move to Kuwait, then move to Jordan. My other aunt would get married and live her life in Egypt.
The two boys in the photo are my uncles Hasan and Saeed. They moved to Kuwait as well. My father finished his education in Egypt then moved to the UAE. We couldn't meet regularly because of our status as Palestinian refugees and the travel restrictions that come with it.
My father took a job in the UAE in 1976. I was born in 1977, and my brother and sister in 1981 and 1983. In 2014, I was arrested by the UAE authorities and told that I have to "go back where I came from". My own son was born a month after my expulsion.
Five generations. Still refugees. Still Palestinian.
