Personal Info
- Country of residence: United States
Information
Rajai Yassin Busailah (born in 1929
in Jerusalem - died on December 6, 2020 in Indianapolis) was a Palestinian
refugee academic, poet, and writer who became blind at the age of two after
developing an infection in his eyes.
life and educational attainment
Ragai Yassin Busailah was born in
Jerusalem in 1929, and according to other sources in 1928. He became blind at
the age of two years after he developed an infection in his eyes. He received
his primary education at the High School for the Blind in the city of Hebron,
which was headed by Subhi Dajani at the time, and his secondary education at
the Amiriyah Secondary School in Jaffa, where he obtained a Metric Certificate.
His family immigrated from the city of Lydda to the city of Nablus as a result
of the Nakba War in 1948, when the Zionist militias seized the city on July 11,
1948.
He studied English language and
literature at Fouad I University (Cairo University today) from which he
obtained a bachelor's degree in 1953, and a master's degree in special
education from Hunter College. He also holds a PhD in English Literature from
New York University.
currency
He joined his family in the city of
Ramallah, and taught at the High School for the Blind, which had moved to the
city of Al-Bireh. He also worked in Kuwait as a teacher and founded a school
for the blind.
He worked as a teacher at Indiana
University Kokomo for 30 years until his retirement in 1994, and as a visiting
professor at the Palestinian Birzeit University and the Moroccan Mohammed V
University.
His writings
Bosila has published several books,
some of which were published:
The book “The Fall of Lydda” in
English.
In the Land of My Birth: A
Palestinian Boyhood, a book in English. (ISBN 9780887280009)
A book entitled “Poems of a
Palestinian Boyhood.” (ISBN 9781916012134)
A collection of my poetry entitled
“The Great Examination” in English “The Owdeul”.
A collection of my poetry entitled
“We are human too” in English “We are human too”.
He has published hundreds of
literary and critical articles in American literary magazines.
He won the “Palestine Book Award”for the year 2018, granted by the Middle East Monitor organization in the
United Kingdom, for the best new book on Palestine published in English.
quotes
In his book “The Fall of Lydda” in
English, Rajai says, illustrating the tragedy of Lydda after it fell on July
11, 1948. “Blindness was a blessing to me; Because it spared me the burden of
watching what was happening in Lydda of massacres and atrocities at the hands
of the Zionist forces, but my ears betrayed me, as I began to know slowly, and
gradually, through shouts, and incoherent phrases: that some of those killed,
their tongues were outside their mouths, and they were covered with dirt and
hung ».
his death
He died in Indianapolis, the
capital of the US state of Indiana, on December 6, 2020 AD, corresponding to
Rabi` al-Akhir 21, 1442 AH, at the age of 91, where he was in St. Vincent
Hospital Indianapolis.
Lebanese storyteller and novelist
Elias Khoury mourned him on his Facebook account: “My big brother and friend on
the journey of torment in Lod. Poet, university professor, intellectual,
activist, blind, who saw what we couldn't see. The son of Palestine, which he
loved with the light of his heart and mind, and the author of the most
beautiful Palestinian autobiography. My beautiful hope died in American exile,
leaving us his love, his words, and a ray of light from his vision. My hope is
a good-bye bulb,” as the Institute for Palestine Studies called him.
source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
: From
To