To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Nakba, Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, in partnership with the Institute for Palestine Studies invites you to the launch of 'In the Land of My Birth: A Palestinian Boyhood' by Raja-e Busaileh. The book recounts the coming of age of a blind Palestinian boy of modest milieu during the turbulent years leading up to the fall of Palestine in 1948. Above all, it is the boy’s life—his struggles to make his way in the sighted world, his upbringing, schooling, friendships, and adventures. It is a compelling human story with a mine of information on popular culture and customs, the educational system, and Palestinian life. The launch will feature the screening of a film in which Raja-e Busailah presents his book, in addition to interventions from:

Elias Khoury, Novelist - Lebanon
Dr Joseph Helou, Adjunct Faculty, Lebanese American University - Lebanon
Laila Atshan, Mental Health Expert - Palestine

Born in Jerusalem in 1929, Reja-e Busailah completed his secondary education in Palestine before earning a BA in English literature from Cairo University and a PhD in the same field from New York University. He taught that subject for thirty years at Indiana University (Kokomo), with visiting professorships at Birzeit University (West Bank) and Muhammad V University (Morocco). Earlier, with an MA in special education from Hunter College, he taught at a school for the blind in Kuwait which he helped establish. In 1967, he founded Project Loving Care, dedicated to helping Palestinian children, which he directed until 1991. Dr Busailah’s passion is poetry, and a number of his poems have been published in various literary journals.