17 September 2012

Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar hosted Susan Abulhawa, the acclaimed author of the international bestselling novel “Mornings in Jenin” to an eager audience of about two hundred attendees. The event capped a day of engagement and activities for SFS-Q students with the author and human rights activist. The novel, published in 2010, is a work of historic fiction that spans four generation of one Palestinian family through six decades of what has become known as the Palestine/Israel Conflict. According to Abulhawa, “this novel is ultimately a love story.”

Speaking at the occasion, Susan said, “I started writing the novel about ten years ago. Initially I was perhaps motivated by a sense of activism and struggle, but once I got to know the characters, my only loyalty was to them: to tell their story with honesty and humanity.” Commenting on her interaction with the students Abulhawa noted, “I’ve been to a number of similar events, but the quality of questions and the desire to know more about the characters, from Georgetown students is quite remarkable.”

Georgetown University SFS-Q Dean Gerd Nonneman noted, “This is a celebrated annual tradition at Georgetown University, where incoming freshmen are given a book to read over the summer, which becomes their first academic reading. At the start of the academic year, students then get a chance to meet the author and discuss the characters and their understanding of the book.”

A parent attending the event thanked the author for making his daughter aware of the tragic history of the war in Palestine, which he survived, but his daughter only came to learn of its significance through reading the book. He also thanked Georgetown University SFS-Q for choosing the book for his daughter’s incoming freshman class.

The book was originally titled “Scar of David” and was first published in 2006. In 2010, Bloomsbury publications released the book under the title “Mornings in Jenin”. The Arabic version of the book was then released in 2012 by Bloomsbury QF.

Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967 when her family was separated and their land seized. She grew up in Kuwait, Jordan and occupied East Jerusalem before residing in Pennsylvania, USA. She has contributed to two anthologies including Shattered Illusions (Amal Press 2002) and Searching Jenin (Cune Press 2003) and has been published in many international publications and periodicals. She is also the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an NGO dedicated to upholding the right of play for Palestinian children living under occupation. Her book Mornings in Jenin has been translated to 31 languages.