‘Spring is Here’: Palestinian Flowers
I’d like to introduce you to Tania Tamari Nasir and her beautiful book, ‘Spring is Here’. Tania is 83 years old. She experienced the 1948 Nakba and has lived under the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Despite the current Israeli campaign of genocide in nearby Gaza and the heightened tensions and Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, Tania found some time to talk with me about her life as a Palestinian and the changes she’s seen in the landscape of flowers in her time.
Tania reached out after finding my post, ‘Gaza’s Flowers,’ about the dismantling of the floriculture industry in Gaza. She wrote,
“I want to let you know what a wonderful moving surprise it was for me to find and read your recent article on the flowers of Gaza (I was just trying to find something on the state of vegetation and flowers in Gaza since the war) and your courageous stance on Israel's genocidal war raging there for months. I was impressed and equally moved to read your reader’s supportive comments. Ever since then I have been wanting to write and share my admiration.”
It has been an honor to connect with Tania and to receive a copy of her book by way of her daughter’s travels between the US and the West Bank.
'Spring is Here' by Tania Tamari Nasir. Illustrations by Mary Jabaji Tamari.
Tania was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Ramallah, a small resort town close to Jerusalem. Her maternal family lived in Jaffa and Tania spent most of her childhood visiting there where she was introduced to the sea and the orange orchards. Later, her maternal family fled Jaffa during the 1948 war to Egypt, where they had family. Jaffa was a flourishing cosmopolitan city with a vibrant cultural life. Her family belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church, her maternal grandfather was closely connected to the White Russian Church. At that time, Russian names were popular in Palestine, hence her name Tania. Later, due to the British mandate over Palestine, names like Elizabeth, Mary and Victoria became more popular.
During the 1948 Nakba, Tania and her family temporarily left Ramallah (which was not in the direct battle zone) for fear of the escalating war and took refuge in Lebanon where they stayed until late 1949. They then returned to Ramallah.
Tania, a writer and academic, honored her childhood memories of flowers in Palestine in an English and Arabic book called, ‘Spring is Here’. It’s a documented collection of flowers native to Palestine and the lands that many of us American Jews were told to be barren and empty, just waiting to be received by the “chosen people”. She wrote the book in both English and Arabic so that it could be received and enjoyed by a larger audience. In doing so, she’s ensured that more people are able to learn about the flowers of Palestine. She hopes that through the art and documentation in the book, people will learn how flowers “are part of the identity and cultural and social heritage of the Palestinians.” The book is illustrated by her aunt through embroidered panels in petite-point style. Every image is a work of art in and of itself.
Tania’s personal story and this book are so much larger in context than the sum of the pages. Why? Because Tania, herself, is a Christian (all faiths are affected by the occupation and genocide, rather then one as many media outlets lead viewers to believe) and her careful documentation of the flora of Palestine stand as evidence of life in a land that is being swept of its caretakers by the occupation.
Her story reminds the world that the conflict is rooted in stolen land, dehumanization, genocide. From Tania and others like her, we are reminded that societies of multiple faiths lived together in the Holy Land before one group decided to erase the others.
Her book, ‘Spring is Here’, shows us the life and beauty of the land and the flowers that once grew in Palestinian gardens and on Palestinian farms. It is a tribute to the identity of the indigenous land of Palestine and its indigenous peoples that are now threatened.
This book serves as proof of a people and the land they love. I can hardly believe that we, as humanity, are here again. -That after the Holodomor, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, etc., etc., etc. we must save and treasure evidence of people that are being wiped away by madmen and the military industrial complex that feeds them.
Tania has co-authored two other books about Palestinian embroidery.
1 "Palestinian Embroidery, Traditional Fallahi Cross Stitch " in English and Arabic editions. can be downloaded through the website www.tirazcentre.org . (If you are interested in learning more, Tania suggests that the Tiraza Centre in Amman, Jordan has an exhibition of traditional Palestinian Gaza dress. The owner of the centre is a not only a close friend of hers, but also the co-author of these books.
2"Seventeen Embroidery Techniques from Palestine" a bilingual manual . This book can be ordered through Sunbula www.sunbula.org.
Tania, a woman of many talents adds:
“one of my major interests is singing. I am a classical singer soprano. Apart from the regular repertoire I have been involved in singing original compositions by Rima Nasir Tarazi (my sister in law) about our life under occupation. Rima (now 92) also wrote the lyrics based on our experience of loss, bereavement, identity, resilience and hope. We have a CD "UNTIL WHEN?" You can access this album on Spotify, but alas there is no English translation of the lyrics. We are working on a YouTube version that will provide the lyrics in English. We have performed these songs for years , locally and internationally. They bring solace and hope.”
The cruel reality for Tania, and millions of other Palestinians now, is that even during quieter times, the occupation controls water access for Palestinians, thereby prohibiting them from farming flowers on their land. When Palestinians want to celebrate a special occasion: a marriage, a birth, etc - the flowers available to them in the marketplace are Israeli grown. These flowers are grown by the occupation on the land they stole and then, in a twisted ruse, sell back to Palestinians in the event they should want to celebrate a moment in their lives.
Since Oct. 7, 2024, hundreds of civilians in the West Bank have been murdered by Israeli forces. Thousands have been taken prisoner and held without charge in the Israeli prisons we all know are rife with torture.
Israeli settlers, under cover from the Israeli Defense Forces, bulldoze and burn Palestinian homes to the ground daily to make way for new settlements that are illegal under international peace agreements designed to protect Palestinians. Israeli agencies sell the properties at illegal discriminatory real estate auctions for Jews, only, across the US.
Our courts and representatives shame us for standing up to protest these injustices. They ban our protests, they ban our boycotts, they refuse to answer our questions, and they continue to take bribes from AIPAC.
What are we (the world) doing? It’s beyond me. I’ve lost my words to speechless gasps in front of videos of burnt, blistered, and maimed bodies. Day after day after day. I’ve lost my mind over politicians, (local, state and federal), who refuse to abide by the very international organizations and laws that were established to prevent genocide in the first place.
History repeats itself. People on one side of the wall are starved and incinerated or buried alive, while people on the other side laugh, mock, and sign bombs to drop.
9/3/24: The latest news from the occupied West Bank is that Israeli forces have invaded the northern cities in what it claims will be a “Gaza style” campaign. Palestinians are being forced from their homes at gunpoint. Air assaults have started. Arbitrary detentions and killings are taking place. Critical infrastructure is being ruined.
How to help:
Contact your local and state representatives (US) and demand that an arms embargo start and that the unconditional support of Israel end.
Ask Palestinians what you can do. Financial support is needed to help families flee Gaza. West Bank residents may soon need similar assistance.
Tania is affiliated with the organization Sunbula, a “Jerusalem-based non-profit fair trade organization” “that empowers marginalized communities in Palestine through traditional artisanal crafts.” You can shop their available products (some are not listed due to the artisans in distress) OR donate to the organization here.
You can also shop from Palestinian artisans via Handmade Palestine. You can even become a wholesale buyer from Handmade in Palestine and gain access to their wide range of products. To learn more about Handmade Palestine, follow them on Instagram at www.instagram.com/handmadepalestine.
And have a listen to Morgan Cooper, an American woman married to a Palestinian, raising two young kids in Ramallah in the West Bank. Morgan is an environmentalist and advocate for Palestinian wildlife conservation.