This essay is based on an article by Edward Said. In the article, the author insists on recognizing the contemporary social, political and historical contexts for a nation, and how the Palestinian nation manages their daily life. It focuses on Palestine and Palestinian people; hence the author’s main goal is to examine States by Edward Said. A state is considered as an organized political grouping which is fundamental for a nation and has a strong influence on the lives of people. However, a state plays a crucial role in the lives of citizens. There are some states which lack permanent boundary and territory; hence lack sovereignty, such as, Palestine. Due to this, the situation in Palestine does not guarantee it to be recognized as a sovereign state.
Edward is a Palestinian who was forced to flee the country due to increased political instability, which is caused by war. After reading the States, the readers are left to have a feeling of isolation, as a result of being in exile. There are many reasons which are making Palestine to be recognized as unstable. First, in the article, Said states that poverty and war are the leading causes of instability in Palestine. This made Palestine to be seen as a geographical area, and not as a nation. The native Palestinians were robbed of their homeland, as well as, their historical identity. Thus, Edward observed that war affected the economy of the region in several ways. In addition, Palestine cannot be compared to its neighbors, since it is observed as an autonomous region. The impoverished economy is evident due to the prevailing poverty. This has forced many people to migrate in searching for jobs. Most of the refugees face shortage in food supply. In addition, as a result of unstable government, the value of the currency has weakened, and the fluctuation has been a nightmare to most exiles. All members of the society are affected by poverty, which has also subhected many children to total misery.
Lack of adequate security is another factor which affects the Palestinians. Thus, the issue of mobility and insecurity are the main social problems, faced by the nation. The Palestinians argue that they have lacked any sence of identity, as Palestinians, wherever they are in their homeland. In addition, they are always subjected to special laws wherever they cross the border in foreign nations, such as USA. Thus, they have the perception that the situation thay experience is not different whether they are in their homeland or in a foreign country. In some cases, they are regared as absentees in their homeland.
The experience of the Palestines are evident in images and photographs which are largely unexplained and in most cases they are only seen as mute and nameless objects.
Israel has been the enemy to Palestine, since, Israeli have a war policy to indiscriminately kill their enemies. Most people love in fear, since, they are not aware of their fate, because a war can erupt at any time. In addition, due to lack of a stability in the government, security problems will continue to increase. Thus, it is advisable that the refugees should be alert most of the time, due to lack of adequate security. Palestine is not classified as a state, since it does not provide protection to its population and this brings suffering to the nation. Consequently, the Palestinians always live as minority groups, since they were moved out of their native lands to survive in refugee camps. The other challenge they face are the stiff rules they encounter at the borders fringing their freedom during war. Furthermore, exiles are sometimes denied to re-entry to their homeland.
The refugees have no alternatives but to look for unskilled jobs and work as laborers in order to survive. As a result, women and children are mostly affected, since they are the ones who are mainly involved into hard labor, which may be developed into neo-colonialism in the form of forced labor. On the other hand, the exiles are subjected to discrimination; hence are treated differently as citizens. In most cases, the society treats them with suspicion.
In this act of terrorism, some of the exiles are facing major security threats, since they may be regarded as terrorists, provided that the main reason of their condition emanates from war. The prevailing situation has made most exiles lose their sense of belonging to the nation, some people have lost confidence in themselves, because they have been given different identities by different people.
The Palestinian society is living in an environment of unhappiness, particularly adults who are worried about the security of their families. Thus, Edwards wanted the audience to understand the plight of the exiles and refugees, in Palestine. Edwards concludes that there is an urgent need to improve the condition of Palestine, in order for it to operate as a state.
Identity is a concept which is lacking among this community, because they do not understand who they are and what is their origin. This is a big challenge to the exiles. On the other hand, some of the population has been compelled to take their identity for granted, the main issue is attributed to their mere existence as Arabs, having every right to habit their homeland in Palestine and not any other region in the world. However, this is a dream to the Palestinians, since they have been denied in their primordial right.
The plight of the people has not changed because the there are no changes, since there is no distance which actually separates the Palestinians from the harshness of life which they have experienced. Previously, there are many challenges, which have been identified to destroy the ecology of the previous regime. In addition to the civil wars, which rocked the world, a new population of refugees and migrant workers miscrossed the Arab world. However, after the oil boom in 1967, Palestine nationalism emerged as an independent force in the Middle East. It was from this time that the future of Palestine appeared to be having a future full of hopes. This also stimulated the political arena. Thus, it resulted into a consumer-oriented culture and the advent of the digital technology which further boosted the economy. However, the stability of the landscape or the continuity of the geographic region completely disappeared from the lives of the Palestinians. Therefore, if the people were not stopped at the national borders or directed into the refugee camps of refusing reentry into their motherland, or prohibited from mobility from one region to another, the identity of the Palestinian in Palestine would not be recognized and their land would be grabbed by foreigners. This would subject the lives of the people in fear, and their views would not be heard, since their identity would be confined to an isolated region in a harsh environment, where they are enslaved, and watched over by superior military.