By Alissar Izrafeel | Staff Writer

You ask how we are these days. What do you think is the condition of [a] small nation? What could be the seal set upon them in present circumstances, but humiliation and more humiliation? 

– May Ziadeh, “Beshara and Farah 220” 

May Ziadeh was a prominent figure in the Arab cultural renaissance period in Egypt, a period known as the Arab Nahda. The central capitals of this period were Cairo and Beirut, two cities that were significant in Ziadeh’s life. Ziadeh, who later chose her literary name to be May, was a Lebanese-Palestinian (or Syrian) woman from Nazareth, Palestine, who was born on February 11, 1886. (Al-Kuzbarī 75) She moved with her family to Lebanon in 1899 to study in Aintoura’s School for Girls. Elias Ziadeh, May’s father, was originally Lebanese from Natural Syria (Bilad al-Sham) from Keserwan, Lebanon. He lived in Palestine. Nazha Mo’ammar, May’s mother, was originally from Damascus who lived in Palestine. They migrated from Nazareth to Cairo in 1907. (Al-Kuzbarī 127) During the nineteenth century, especially under the Ottoman Empire’s reign, identity was problematic since it was still in the making due to political and regional conflicts. 

In Ziadeh’s case, her internal quandary of belonging and identity towards her shattered country was reflected in her published book “Ẓulumāt wa ʾAsheʿa” (Darkness and Rays) in the excerpt entitled “Ayna Watani?” (Where’s my country?). The book was written in 1923 in Egypt after Natural Syria (Bilad al-Sham) was divided by Sykes-Picot Accords in 1916. The book was published after the short-lived kingdom of Syria (Lebanon and Palestine included) under King Faisal’s rule and after the British and French Mandates. 

A famous quote by May Ziadeh taken from the chosen excerpt is presented below: 

ولدت في بلد، وأبي من بلد، وأمي من بلد، وسكني في بلد، وأشباح نفسي تنتقل من بلد إلى بلد. فلأي هذه البلدان أنتمي، وعن أي هذه البلدان أدافع؟ (Ziadeh 102)

My translation:

I was born in one country, my father is from one country, my mother is from another country, and I live in another country. The ghosts of my inner self are moving from country to country. To which of these countries do I belong? And which of these countries should I defend? 

May Ziadeh questioned her belonging to these countries since she did not feel patriotism towards only one country. Even though she lived in Egypt for most of her life, she was in a continuous relationship with Lebanon and Syria. Indirectly, she also aspired to show a sense of nationalism towards her country and to hold the country from its sectarian and religious problems.

Ziadeh used two crucial words, Balad and al-Buldān. Balad stood for a single country and al-Buldān stood for multiple countries. It showed that she was referring to different countries as al-Buldān even though she was using Balad to refer to multiple countries. She has a relationship with her place of birth (Palestine), her mother’s country (Syria), her father’s country (Lebanon), and her place of residence (Egypt). They were naturally one whole country (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine), before Sykes-Picot Accords took place in 1916 and the Balfour Declaration in 1917.

Ziadeh’s pain of witnessing the land cut down into pieces was a political identity crisis for May Ziadeh. The question of belonging appeared clearly in the book when Ziadeh repeated “Where’s My Country?” and “The Girl Who Doesn’t Have a Country” six times in the 7-page-excerpt. It showed her emphasis on the country and not belonging to any of them at the same time. These are the questions she asked about the notion of belonging.

 فلماذا أكون، دون سواي، تلك التي لا وطن لها؟ (Ziadeh 102) 

بأي اللهجات أتفاهم والناس، وبأي الروابط ارتبط؟

(Ziadeh 103) فلماذا قدّر على أن أكون ابنة وطن تنقصه شروط الوطنية، فأمسى تلك التي لا وطن لها؟  

 ولماذا أكون أنا وحدي تلك التي لا تدري أين وطنها؟ (Ziadeh 106) 

  In addition to the internal conflict of her belonging, Ziadeh felt an alienation towards her country that was shattered in pieces. She expressed her feelings through the following sentences,

 أنت لست منا لأنك من طائفة أخرى أنت لست منا لأنك من جنس آخر (Ziadeh 102) التقيد بلغة جماعتي وهي، وعلى زعمهم، ليست لي ولم توجد لأمثالي؟ أم أكتفي بلغة الغرباء وأنا في نظرهم متهجمة عليها؟  (Ziadeh 103)

They are the expression of the harsh reality of the division of her land that was originally one country with a social and cultural unity that has transformed into different compartments. 

I believe that there was a deep connection between May Ziadeh and her land despite the political and geographical division of Natural Syria into pieces. Even though she faced an identity crisis of a shattered country, she wrote and gave lectures to the public audience in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon about the importance of one’s land, identity and culture. (Mjāʿiṣ 2012). All of these drawbacks in the Levant region have profoundly shaped her political, social, and cultural views on her positionality towards her identity and belonging.

Today, after 108 years of applying Sykes-Picot Accords in the region, the countries ended up in deep despair and melancholy. The levant region is one of the most miserable spots in the world. The economic and political crisis in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, as well as the wars in the respective countries, were some of the results of the catastrophic political and geographical division. In addition, the genocide that is taking place in occupied Palestine is another result of the historical and political complications.

*Tribute to May Ziadeh. Her writings are still relevant to our present days. 

Works Cited

Al-Kuzbarī, Salma. May Ziadeh, Aw, Ma’sāt an-Nubūgh. Mu’assasat Nawfal, Beirut, 1987.

Mjāʿiṣ, Salīm. May Ziadeh: Nushū’ wa Irtiqā’ al-Muthaqqafa al-Ḥurra. Dār Kitāb lil-Nashr, Beirut, 2012.

Ziadeh, May. “Ayna Waṭani?” Ẓulumāt wa ʾAsheʿa. First edition. Muʾassasat Nawfal. pp. 101-107. Beirut, Lebanon, 1975.

Ziadeh, May. Ẓulumāt wa ʾAsheʿa. Dār Beirut lil-Ṭibaʿa wal-Nashr, Beirut, 1952.