Piece Comment

Review of The Story of a Nation


In Aysar?s interview with an 80-year-old survivor of the 1948 Naqba, the desire to go home is constantly looming. The man tells a brief story about his experience with being forced to leave, but he begins by saying this is not only a story of a single person?this is a story of an entire people, an entire generation has grown up in a refugee camp. The music layered throughout the piece sets the mood of longing to return home but overall this piece has little closure, although that could be because there is no closure in the refugees lives, their problems still exist. This piece has a very smooth flow, however it is hard to understand at some points because of all the layered sounds. It would be interesting to compare the stories of those who were evacuated with the stories of the people who had grown up in the camp, and hear more about their idea of home and where they belong.