The elderly Palestinian's painful story shows the first moment Israel began ethnic cleansing

This is also known as the Nachba disaster.

Almost a century later, Nachba still has influence over tens of thousands of Palestinians living worldwide.

The Palestinians lived happily in their lands, farms, and enjoyed a healthy life in their villages. Their land was all they had.

We are safe and happy on our farms. Our houses are beautiful and our land is green, we've got apples,prices, peaches, olives, vegetables. These were the most wonderful days”, says an elderly Palestinian resident.

My father took care of my education and he insisted on attending school. I went to school until the seventh grade of”.

In the years leading up to Nachba, Palestinians resisted British efforts to increase Jewish immigration and land transfers from Arabs to Jews.

There's a widespread fiction that the Nachba refugees were naive, but that was totally false. They were aware of the plot that had been devised to them”.

After Britain decided to withdraw from Palestine, the confrontation between Palestinians and Seismists became more severe, and the balance of power was in favour of the ionists.

And in the absence of an Arab army, they have created a situation like it is currently”.

To create the state of Israel, the ruling forces attacked Palestine, destroying some 530 villages.

More than 15, 000 Palestinians were killed and more than 750, 000 were forced to abandon their homes.

The people in our village were terrified, and they ordered us to leave the village. My mother was afraid of the news coming about the massacre of Deri Yassin and Japheth, so she decided to leave the house”.

The village was attacked with heavy artillery. 85 Palestinians were killed in that massacre”.

These were the Zionist movements to purge Palestine.

My son and his son were killed by the ruling gangs. My mother was injured in the leg, and when my grandfather tried to save her, they killed”

Most of the refugees had decided to return to their homes to obtain equipment and food. They never returned, most of them were killed.

We spent a year sleeping in the sand under the open sky and the trees. We arrived at Dayr al-Balah in Gaza in a miserable state. Finally, the UN gave us tents. ”

The United Nations Relief and Labour Agency for Refugees of Palestine at Near Lindy (UNRËA) was established in December 1949, a year after Nachbas, to provide work and relief directly for Palestinian refugees.

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There was only one bathroom for six or seven families. We waited in long lines for food and water provided by the United Nations. Like our families, we lived in extreme poor conditions”.

I finished high school. I was smart; I still speak four languages: English, French, Hebrew, and Arabic”.

The elderly Palestinian was optimistic that he would once return to his home until the 1967 war broke out, reports “Al Jazeera”, Periscopi broadcast.

The 1967 War revived our hopes. I remember the elders at the time saying to each other: “Prepare to return to your country; the return is near””.

During the war, we've stayed in the mountains. We had nothing to eat; we were eating grass until we returned to our camps. But we had nowhere to go. Before us was just sea”.

But by the time the 1967 war ended, Israel occupied the historic part of Palestine, including Gaza and the West Coast, where many refugees lived. They were destined to leave their lands once more after the same forces had driven them out of their homes in 1948.

This was an opportunity for many scattered families to find out what happened to their loved ones after 1948. 19 years after the Palestinian old man separated himself from his family, an update came from his memory. They were coming to visit the refugee camp.

I didn't recognize my father; he looked too old with white hair! But what really shocked me was the moment I saw my mother in a wheelchair. She was paralyzed”

The loss of 1967 was the main reason I joined the resistance, I felt so ashamed”

In 1970, I was sentenced to 10 years in a prison in Israel. I spent most of my time in prison reading philosophy and studying the economy”.

When I got out of prison, it was the first Intifada, and I joined them in marching with a lot of union”.

After Israel captured Gaza and the West Coast, many refugees returned to their cities to visit their lands and homes that they left behind.

In 1980, I had worked in Israel, the city when I was forced to leave the Israelites. Moving restrictions at the time were easy, so I decided to take my family on a first trip to their homeland”.

When I told the elders that I would take them to their lands, they danced with joy. They couldn't sleep that night. Finally, they would see their homeland! ”

I'll never forget the moment we arrived. They were weeping bitterly, rushing into their land. I saw a woman kissing a tree where her murdered father had planted”.

I was very happy for them, but at the same sad time”

Every year, in May, I take my grandchildren to the border so they can see their land and take photographs. I often tell them about our country and their right to return. They always ask me: When will you take us back to our land?

The Palestinian elder has 30 grandchildren, most of them scattered in many countries.

I have a family I've never met. Some of them come to visit me from time to time but not after the second instance. I only see them through social media and talk to them through Skypes”.

A year ago, I attended a conference in Jerusalem; the first thing that came to mind was to see my families. I found some relatives, and they were so happy to meet me”.

“As the third generation diaspora, we are eager to recognize our roots. The family meeting in Jerusalem was a feeling of living in my” house.

Nachba is a reality that continues to form their daily wars, hopes, and dreams. They, and many Palestinian refugees like them, live and die to achieve one thing: return./Periscopi/