By Robert Leslie

I held the photograph of bairns enjoying splashing through waves on a beach in Gaza for a while. I can’t recall how many of them our Gazan host Diline told us had been killed in Israeli air strikes, but it was enough to know that several of these innocent peedie bairns were no longer with us.

Kara and I were part of an audience of around 70 folk that sat round tables in the St Magnus Centre on Friday 2 August as Diline Abushaban, and author and storyteller who moved to Scotland from Gaza around 16 years ago, prepared – with help from some audience volunteers – dagga, a traditional spicy tomato salad from Gaza, and told us stories from her homeland.

Diline explained that she had heard a lot about what people of Orkney do for justice and peace for Palestine and wanted to do this event to share the beauty of the Palestinian culture and cuisine.

“I wanted as many people in Orkney as possible to experience the taste of Palestine, to learn a new Gazan recipe and to connect with the cause on deeper level through sharing personal stories from Gaza, stories of the deep losses that people of Gaza endure with resilience and hope. The loss of my precious sister Huda, her husband, and their bright children Abdullah (12), Sara (10), Ismael (8) and baby Mohammad (one). They all had beautiful personalities, talents, great hopes, dreams and were owed a future that they never reached.”

And it was the calm and positive delivery of her stories of the shocking death toll that her family – and so many other families in Gaza – had suffered that has stayed with me. There was no anger, while she would have been perfectly within her rights to express it – just talk of reaching peace.

After the stories of the rich Palestinian culture and cuisine and their role in resisting the occupation, Diline and her friend Fiona Ferguson, who had arranged for Diline and her son to visit Orkney, brought out enough delicious food to feed the company.

The sharing of traditional Gazan food – the dagga, baba ganoush, mujadara, hummus, falafel and sage tea – along with the stories of her family members that had been killed in the ongoing attacks by Israel was a very effective way bringing stark reality to atrocities that perhaps some have become numb to. The passing round of photos of many of her family who had been killed was particularly effective though. The faces of the bairns at the beach will stay with me.

The evening, supported by Orkney Friends of Palestine and Amnesty Orkney, raised money for Shu’fat Refugee Camp and Al-Harah Theatre in Beit Jala.

However, it also gave the audience the tools to raise awareness of the continuing grim situation in Gaza, with Diline suggesting that preparing and sharing food in this deliberate manner was a good way to spread the word.

And that is just what Kara did in the past couple of weeks.

With Fiona supplying the recipes, Kara prepared some of the dishes – dagga, hummus and falafels – for a school class reunion on the Friday before County Show. We also entertained our families on the Sunday of that weekend, as daughter Isla was heading back to Glasgow the following day. Kara made dagga and baba ganoush this time and it all went down very well – though some of the senior family members were surprised by the heat in the dagga!

We have also spoken to family and friends about the evening and the effect of seeing the faces and hearing the stories of all of the family members of Diline that have been killed by Israel.

That very deliberate preparing and sharing of food is so important in Gaza.

By coincidence, I found a similar scene in a book I have just finished reading. In Night Train to Odesa, her description of the human cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Fair Isle journalist and writer Jen Stout includes this comment from a Ukrainian soldier who had laid out a meal for her and colleagues in the eastern town of Kurakhove:

“‘The most important thing,’ said Apostle, philosophical now, is byt.’

Byt is a small word with great meaning: everyday life, a sense of home, normality, habitual comforts.

‘This is the foundation,’ he said, and he gestured at us all, sitting round the table together. ‘After all – we’re people, not animals.’”

Taking a moment to reflect on this at gatherings of family or friends for food is something we should perhaps all do, and not take for granted.

Diline’s Thoughts on the Orkney Event

Going to Orkney this year was very healing and fulfilling. With the breathtaking views and the warm and welcoming Orkney community, a combination that lifts up the spirits in times of mistrust in humanity. 

The idea of coming to Orkney this year was to do a Palestinian Food and story event. I heard a lot about what people of Orkney do for justice and peace for Palestine through my wonderful friend Fiona who thanks to her support along with the support of Friends of Orkney, this event was well organised. The event supported two amazing charities in Palestine that support the community there in easing the devastating impact of the trauma.

I shared a glimpse of the beautiful Palestinian culture through the sharing of food and sharing the recipe of the most popular Gazan salad ‘Dagga’. A super easy dish to make but significant in the memories it holds with smells, sounds, flavours and colours of the Palestinian home. Alongside with ‘Dagga’ more delicious dishes were shared with the taste of Palestine including Falafels, hummus, babaganoush and Mujaddara. I had an amazing team of helpers, who know who they are, so grateful for their time and energy. 

I appreciated visiting the Gaza Children memorial Garden which was established by Nadia and Ed with the intention of keeping remembering every child who was killed in Gaza. A thoughtful initiative that fuels hope and remembrance. 

I hope now I left Orkney, Dagga never leaves and I trust it is being made by each one of those who attended the event, who will share it with their loved ones alongside with the stories and love for Palestine.