Author: Usama Ghanayem

Usama Ghanayem is a 47 year old from the city of Ramallah, Palestine. For those whom are unfamiliar with this beautiful town, it's located in the Israeli occupied West Bank, that would be (West of the River Jordan). I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian Arab. Like many other Palestinian families we fled because of the hostilities between the Israeli military and Palestinian guerrilla fighters in 1967-1969. At age 3, I remember the Israeli bombing of our area, as well as the school down the street from our house in Es Sult, Jordan. I remember my older brother and his friends playing in the craters after that particular bombing, but I cannot forget the screaming and panic of my mom and my sisters as they were rushing us downstairs for "safety". Even though I was only 3 years old, I remember this vividly. It still haunts me from time to time. We left Palestine for a (safer) area in the country of Jordan, the Hashemite kingdom. My father Wadi moved to the United States in 1968, settling in the city of San Francisco. We followed him in December of 1969 after he settled and established a home for us. We then flew from the capital city Amman, Jordan, to Beirut, Lebanon. After leaving the Middle East we had various stops in Milan, Italy, New York, Chicago and finally in San Francisco our final destination. I lived in the United States since I was 3 years old, up until this present day. [email protected]