ramallah, west bank (ap) | A Palestinian handed over a check for $10,000 from refugees to a U.S. representative last week, a contribution to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Jihad Tomaleh from the Amari refugee camp near Ramallah drew parallels between the plight of the hurricane victims and his own people. “Palestinian refugees who have lived more than 50 years displaced from our homes are very sensitive to the Katrina victims.”
At the ceremony, Rafik Husseini, an aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, used the same Arabic word, “naqba” or catastrophe, to describe the tragedies that befell both peoples.
Receiving the contribution, Jake Walles, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, said it had added significance “because we know it came from poor people.”