Palestinian Author's 60-Year Diary Finds Safe Home

When Raja Shehadeh was 15, he wrote about bees being kicked out of neighboring gardens and made a promise not to let them be displaced from his own. That 1967 diary entry was his first quiet act of resistance, written just weeks before war would reshape his Palestinian homeland forever.

Now 75, the acclaimed author and human rights lawyer has ensured his life's work will survive. The University of Edinburgh officially receives his personal journals this week, safeguarding nearly 60 years of Palestinian history told through one man's daily observations.

The archive spans more than 5 million words across tens of thousands of pages. Shehadeh began writing as a teenager in Ramallah, documenting a period he sensed needed recording. He never stopped.

His journals capture everything from the Six-Day War in 1967 to the founding of the human rights organization Al-Haq to daily life under occupation. The collection also includes papers from his late father Aziz, a lawyer from Ramallah.

Shehadeh made the difficult decision to move his archive in late 2023. Increased violence in the West Bank and the war in Gaza convinced him his collection faced real danger of destruction.

Getting the massive archive from Palestine to Scotland required an international team effort. The Digital Archive of the Middle East, Jerusalem's Educational Bookshop, and the University of Edinburgh collaborated on digitizing and safely transferring the documents.

Matthew Teller, a friend and the project director, watched everyone set aside ego for the greater good. Working amid ongoing conflict and violence, Mahmoud Muna from the Educational Bookshop led a small task force to carefully digitize each page.

The Ripple Effect

Shehadeh chose Edinburgh because of his deep connection to the city, where he's launched 14 books at the annual book festival. Last week, he visited his archive in its new home and felt overwhelming relief seeing it stored behind double locks in climate-controlled safety.

The archive now serves as protected memory for future generations. Scholars, historians, and anyone seeking to understand Palestinian daily life across six decades can access this extraordinary firsthand account.

His diary keeping continues. Shehadeh says once you start journaling, you simply cannot stop, and his day feels incomplete until he's recorded his thoughts.

For a writer who spent his teenage years promising not to let the bees be displaced, ensuring his own life's work found permanent sanctuary feels like coming full circle.