ABSTRACT
The Palestinians’ natural response to the politics of dispersal and statelessness was the beginning of the politics of survival. The rebirth of society started even as the war’s dust was settling over the refugees. Within the context of the reconstruction of the Palestinian social fabric, this chapter focuses on the incipient socio-political relationships that characterized their early response and their politics of adaptation. The displaced Palestinian intelligentsia, like all Palestinians, reclaimed their personal and political identity--a reflection of pride in who they were and in their roots. The significance of these incipient patterns of social and political interaction lies in their ability to shape and influence the development of Palestinian family networks and of furthering group survival. Many members of the intelligentsia found employment in the states surrounding Palestine before deciding to seek employment in Kuwait. Kuwaiti attitudes were very important to the Palestinians’ ability to form their new diaspora society.
