For several decades after the usurpation of their homeland, Palestinians were reduced to aggregates of refugees, some remaining in the newly-created state of Israel as second-class citizens, with others scattered over the Arab World and far beyond. It was Yasir Arafat, through the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) he founded, that gave them a sense of identity as a people.
但阿拉法特给我们留下的远远不只是耐力。很多人都说阿拉法特对自己的人民来讲是好坏参半的祝福。他们的前途和命运紧紧联系在一起，有时两者会同时走到崩溃的边缘。家园被强占后几十年过去了，巴勒斯坦人已经沦为了一群无家可归的难民，有些人继续留在新建国的以色列当二等公民，其它人则流落到阿拉伯乃至整个世界。正是亚西尔·阿拉法特，用他一手创建的巴勒斯坦解放组织（PLO），给了他们做人的最后一点尊严。