Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Rajai Yassin Busayla (born in 1929 in Jerusalem - died on December 6, 2020 in Indianapolis) was a Palestinian refugee academic , poet, and writer . He became blind at the age of two years after suffering from an infection in his eyes.
His life and academic achievements
Rajai Yassin Basila was born in Jerusalem in 1929, and according to other sources in 1928. He became blind at the age of two years after suffering from an eye infection. He received his primary education at the Al-Aliyah School for the Blind in the city of Hebron , which was headed by Subhi Al-Dajjani at the time, and his secondary education at Al-Ameriyah Secondary School in Jaffa , where he obtained a leaving certificate. His family immigrated from the city of Lod to the city of Nablus as a result of the Nakba War in 1948 , when the Zionist militias took over the city on July 11, 1948.
He studied English language and literature at Fouad I University (today Cairo University), from which he obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1953, and a master’s degree in special education from Hunter College [English]. He also obtained a doctorate in English literature from New York University .
His work
He joined his family in the city of Ramallah , and taught at the Al-Aliya 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 there.
He worked as a lecturer at Indiana University Kokomo for 30 years until his retirement in 1994, and a visiting professor at Birzeit University in Palestine and Mohammed V University in Morocco .
His works
Busayla published several books, some of which were published:
The book “The Fall of Lydda” in English.
A book in the English language “In the Land of My Birth: A Palestinian Boyhood.” ( ISBN 9780887280009 )
A book entitled “Poems of a Palestinian Boyhood.” ( ISBN 9781916012134 )
A collection of poetry entitled “The Great Examination” in English “The Owdeul”.
A collection of poetry entitled “We are human too” in English.
He published hundreds of literary and critical articles in American literary magazines.
It won the “Palestine Book Award” for the year 2018, which is awarded by the Middle East Monitor organization in the United Kingdom to the best new book about Palestine published in English.
Quotations
Rajai says in his book “The Fall of Lydda” in English, depicting the tragedy of Lydda after its fall on July 11, 1948, “ Blindness was a blessing to me; Because it spared me the sustenance of witnessing the massacres and atrocities that were taking place in Lod at the hands of the Zionist forces, but my ears betrayed me, as I began to learn slowly, and gradually through the shouts and incoherent expressions: that some of those killed had their tongues outside their mouths, covered in dirt and hanging. ».
His death
He died in the city of Indianapolis , the capital of the American state of Indiana , on December 6, 2020 AD, corresponding to Rabi’ al-Akhir 21, 1442 AH, at the age of 91 years, where he was lying in St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis [English] .
The Lebanese storyteller and novelist Elias Khoury mourned him on his Facebook account : “ My big brother and friend of the tormenting journey in Lydda. The poet, university professor, and intellectual, blind activist who saw what we could not see. The son of Palestine, which he loved with the light of his heart and mind, and the writer of the most beautiful Palestinian biography. My beautiful hope died in American exile, leaving us his love, his words, and a ray of light from his vision. Raji Basila, Farewell ,” as the Institute for Palestine Studies called him.
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Achievements and Awards
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