As you enter Aida camp the first thing your eyes will meet is The Key. It is said to be the biggest key in the world.  The Key embodies the atmosphere of the camp. It holds a flood of emotions but one in particular stands out, hope. “The Key of Return” reminds every child in Aida camp as they return from school that there is hope and that they shall never give up fighting for it.

The Key is where the tour, which is organized by Aida Youth Center, begins for 22 young Diaspora Palestinians from seven different countries around the world. They are traveling through HCEF Know Thy Heritage program to Jordan and have now arrived in Palestine. The keystones of the program is to “explore and live Palestine and have the Diaspora Palestinians strengthen their knowledge of their Palestinian identity, culture, history and traditions and learn more about Palestine’s economic, political and social context“.

The young Diaspora Palestinians all have different backgrounds and have all grown up in evidently different countries but at this moment they are all united by their Palestinian heritage and their will to experience it.

“I have always felt very connected to my original routs and wanted to see where I’m from” says 25-year-old Mohamed from Denmark.

Some of the Palestinians also accentuate that the motivation to come to Palestine came from the need to know more about their country.

“I don’t know anything about my country. When people ask me where I’m from my first response is Palestine and then the questions starts and I have no idea. We are just raised to hate Israel and love Palestine and I don’t know why. That’s why I wanted to come here to learn and see it with my own eyes” adds 24-year-old Rawan from USA.

Source: PNN