In this first chapter of Noor’s story, we trace the threads that formed her identity long before war and loss. Her roots run through Gaza, from her grandmother’s stories of being displaced from Al-Masmiyya in 1948, in her father’s belief that daughters should be educated, in the elegant stride of her mother, and in the traditions of proposals and marriage that carried both duty and pride.

For Noor, womanhood was never separate from these roots. It was shaped by faith, family, and culture — not as restrictions, but as anchors. They steadied her through childhood, guided her into adulthood, and, eventually, gave her the strength to mother her son in the harshest of circumstances.

This episode of The Archive Speaks is not about politics, but about survival and identity. Noor shows us how being Palestinian, Muslim, a teacher, a wife, and eventually a mother were all intertwined — roots that steadied her before displacement reshaped her life.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

* Noor’s family background and the heritage passed through her grandmother

* Her childhood in Gaza, filled with both joy and uncertainty

* How her passion for education became a bridge to the outside world

* The significance of proposals and marriage in her coming of age

* How faith and culture intertwined to shape her womanhood — and later, her motherhood

Why This Story Matters

Behind every Female-Headed Household is a story of roots — the lessons of family, faith, and culture that prepare women to carry entire families when no one else can.

Noor’s story reminds us that motherhood in displacement is not born out of nothing. It grows from deep foundations of identity and tradition. By listening to her, we begin to understand how Palestinian womanhood is not erased by crisis but becomes the very ground from which survival is possible.

Sources

These oral histories are personal truths and memories, told in the words of those who lived them, shaped by time, loss, and resilience. The Archive Speaks holds space for them without political alignment or editing out their truth.

UNRWA. “Where We Stand: Palestine Refugees in Gaza.” 2023UN Women. In Focus: Gender in Humanitarian Action in Palestine. 2024OCHA. Gaza Strip Humanitarian Needs Overview. 2023

Noor’s journey doesn’t end here. You can stand with her family as they face the daily reality of survival in Gaza and beyond.Help Noor’s family survive starvation in Gaza here.

The Archive Speaks feature lived memories and stories of resilience and survival from places of conflict like Gaza, told by refugee women and female head of households, and preserved by The Refugee Archive.

Get full access to The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH at therefugeearchive.substack.com/subscribe