The role of collective memory in solidifying identity : the case of Palestinian refugees

Through a critical review of scholarly literature on the role of collective memory as a resistance tool to memoricide, this research paper uses an analytical approach to examine the efforts exerted by Palestinian refugees in post 1948 Nakba (catastrophe of dispossession) to preserve and consolidate their national identity through the transmission of history of displacement and cultural heritage. With a specific focus on the fourth-generation Palestinian refugees living under occupation, and through studying cultural practices, oral history, and the Great March of Return Movement, this paper examines the role played by the collective memory in consolidating the Palestinians national identity in the post-Nakba era. The research argues that the collective memory constitutes a central anchor to preserving the Palestinian national identity and becomes an instrumental site for resistance, creating a generation of hope and rights, not despair and loss, as claimed by the recent literature. Key Words: Palestinian Refugees, Nakba, Collective Memory, Memoricide, National Identity, Oral History, Memory, Heritage, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Right of Return