I believe it is important for you to meet Deema Magathe. Which is why I produced this video that you will see below.
Deema is a Palestinian. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio U.S.A., as a little girl to escape the first Gulf War. In Cincinnati, she met and married another first generation Palestinian-American, Rami Masri, and now they raise two girls here.
Deema is a college graduate, a working professional, wife, mother, sister, and daughter. To her core, she is a proud Palestinian, Muslim woman who has not forgotten her roots, her culture, her people or their struggle.
Which is why I want you to meet her. I think it is important for people to hear from Palestinian people they might not otherwise hear from should they only watch or read mainstream media. Especially American media.
There are somewhere around 4.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza – the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Another 7 million or so live in the diaspora. While the majority of the Palestinian diaspora live in Jordan and Lebanon, there are still significant numbers living in the U.S., Latin American (especially Chile) and Europe.
Their voices are interesting to hear because, while they are not living under the harshness of occupation, they remain passionate about the rights and dignity of their compatriots and actively fight for their cause. In most cases, they have the freedom to speak and act and move and do things that
Palestinians living in the OPT do not. So they bring a fresh perspective to the Palestinian narrative.
Deema is no exception. She remains active in the Palestinian cause as president of the Cincinnati chapter of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF). PCRF is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that brings children from the Middle East (mainly Palestinian children) to the U.S. for major health care needs free of charge.
Her story is worth hearing. Here it is:
https://ql.mediasilo.com/#ql/5d0256c8e4b00a87e5b841a9/a068d705-0772-4a36-b140-4733a9063f73