As part of Watan in the Diaspora program that aims at documenting and archiving the tales of Palestinian women, Kayani Project visited Zakiyeh Chehadeh on Saturday, August 28th in her home in Mar Elias where she recounted snippets of her life and made mandi.
Born in Tal El Zaatar refugee camp in Lebanon in 1960, Chehadeh spoke on how she lived through the war and how the misery in Tal El Zaatar left an impact on her.
In looking back at the days she used to wake up and bake with her mother, Chehadeh prefaced what follows with “I will never forget this till the day I die.” She then proceeds to describe how while baking with her mom with her nephews nearby, a missile dropped down on them and took the lives of her 3 nephews with one of them remaining alive but severely injured. Her brother, 18 at the time and a nurse working with the Palestine Red Crescent, held his injured son in his hands and arrived at a school in Dekwaneh where they never saw him again.
“They took my brother away and we don’t know anything about him to this day. It’s been 45 years.” Chehadeh told Kayani Project.
Married at 16 and having a child in Lebanon, she shared that she left Tal El Zaatar for Syria shortly after burying her family members. Her demeanor changed when she remembered days when she would cook with her mother.
“I used to help my mother make breakfast: saj with oil and sugar and mankouche. I am so thankful that I carry this memory with me until now,” she said grinding.
When Zakiyeh settled in Syria, she was more eager to learn recipes to make for her family. A dish she loved and desired to master was Mandi which she prepared attentively the day Kayani Project visited her.
“I made this recipe during the war in Syria and only started to do it more often when I came here to Lebanon. I have prepared this dish for the Palestinian Red Crescent before, and they loved it. Encouragements as such make me want to cook it more often.”
Chehadeh shared that the reason she left Syria for Lebanon is that her son was imprisoned.
“Just like his uncle. I don’t know anything about him since it happened 9 years ago. He is 39 now. I pray that he and my brother are released soon,” she told Kayani Project.
Zakiyeh Chehadeh, who is currently residing in Mar Elias refugee camp emphasized the importance of food in unifying their Palestinian culture and how she aspires to pass down recipes to her daughters who can then do the same.
The confidence in remaining unified is something Chehadeh echoed throughout her discourse with Kayani Project.
“Mar Elias refugee camp holds a big chunk of those previously born in Tal El Zaatar. It gives me hope that the same neighbors I had there are the neighbors I have here. They are my family and are dear to my heart. Therefore, need to stick together and fight for the Palestinian cause in unison.”