06/11/2025
The Naksa was not just a setback-it was a turning point. 58 years later, the occupation still shapes every part of Palestinian life. This image from our collection gives weight to the refugee experience.
Notes from our Curator, Wafa Ghnaim:
In this powerful image, a Palestinian man gazes over Jaramana Refugee Camp. His eyes are heavy with sorrow, his posture bearing the weight of his new displacement. The photographer, once known and now unnamed, frames him against a sweeping backdrop of tents that stretch to the horizon, evoking the vast scale of exile and loss that has confounded Palestinian existence into a state of perpetual displacement.
According to researcher Maher Charif, writing for the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestinian Question at the Institute for Palestine Studies, the history of Jaramana and the twelve official Palestinian refugee camps established in Syria is a vital component in understanding Palestinian diasporic experiences in the twentieth century.
Established in Damascus on 30,000 square meters of land, Jaramana was first settled by Palestinians displaced during the 1948 al-Nakba, and later by those fleeing the Golan Heights after the June 1967 War. Most residents trace their origins to villages near Safad, Tiberias, and Acre, including al-Dawwara, al-Salihiyya, Qaytiyya, and al-Kabri, as well as to the lowlands of the Jordan River Valley, known as the aghwar. By 1985, the camp’s population had grown to approximately 24,000.
Both the man and his photographer, unnamed and yet so unforgettable they are inscribed into the walls of the museum, stand as a reminder to the cruelty of Israeli occupation and violence. His gaze reminds us of the tremendous cost of violence and forced displacement, a legacy that continues today on a scale never before seen in human history.
Artwork Details
Title: Reproduction of “Man Overlooking Jarmana Refugee Camp” (1948)
Artist: Photographer Once Known
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