Mariam is a refugee living in the Jalazone Refugee Camp, Ramallah. She is shown here in a fancy dress often worn for celebrations. She was 16 years old and newly married when she was forced to flee her village in July 1948. During the British mandate, soldiers set up a military camp just outside the village. Mariam said “the British and the Haganah were raining down bullets on our head. I saw a woman breastfeeding a baby shot before my eyes. I couldn’t stop to pick up the baby. What happened to that baby?”. Beit Nabala was a small village on a rocky hill, which overlooked Al-Lydd and was connected by a railway to Haifa and to villages to the east and southeast .In 1945, there were 2,310 Palestinians living in the village. The villagers cultivated wheat, fruits, olives, and grapes. There were also citrus groves and banana trees irrigated by wells. The settlement of “Kfar Truman” (named after US President Truman) was established in 1949 west of the village site. “Beit Nehemia” was founded on the south side in 1950. The village today is overgrown with grass and thorny bushes. On the fringes of the village, you can find the remains of quarries and crumbled houses. Mariam’s dress is typical of the Jaffa region where the district of Al-Ramla is situated. Her dress is embroidered with citrus fruits and cypress trees on white linen. Price: $35
