Samira Hussein
Palestine
Samira Mohammad Hussein, mother, advocate for peace, and family service worker for Montgomery County Public Schools, was born in Palestine but has lived in Montgomery County for more than four decades. As a child, her family was well off and her father the mayor of their town. The comfortable life she and her family led came to an end in June 1967 during the Six-Day War between Palestine and Israel. Her memory of leaving her home as a child exemplifies the panic, fear, and bewilderment of forced relocation. She recalls the night of June 6 when she was twelve years old:
Samira Mohammad Hussein, mother, advocate for peace, and family service worker for Montgomery County Public Schools, was born in Palestine but has lived in Montgomery County for more than four decades. As a child, her family was well off and her father the mayor of their town. The comfortable life she and her family led came to an end in June 1967 during the Six-Day War between Palestine and Israel. Her memory of leaving her home as a child exemplifies the panic, fear, and bewilderment of forced relocation. She recalls the night of June 6 when she was twelve years old:
"… my family and the entire village were forced to leave by the Israeli occupation forces. It was midnight, and we have no idea where to go. We got up and started to walk with no time to change or even put shoes on…I was full of confusion and fear. It was so hot and dry. I had never seen a tank or army before. We were so tired, hungry, and thirsty, but we had to keep moving. We kept walking and wandering in the wilderness like lost cattle for three days before we could settle in a spot. We followed the irrigation water hoping for clean water to drink or something to eat since we had not had any food or water for three days. We had to use the dirty water to drink and wash. We remained at the one place where we found some shade for close to two weeks. Still, we had nothing to eat, no change of clothes and had to still sleep on the ground. Children were constantly crying. We were under full curfew, and when the army came close, my mom would put her white head cover hanging on a tree, a sign that we wanted peace."
"… my family and the entire village were forced to leave by the Israeli occupation forces. It was midnight, and we have no idea where to go. We got up and started to walk with no time to change or even put shoes on…I was full of confusion and fear. It was so hot and dry. I had never seen a tank or army before. We were so tired, hungry, and thirsty, but we had to keep moving. We kept walking and wandering in the wilderness like lost cattle for three days before we could settle in a spot. We followed the irrigation water hoping for clean water to drink or something to eat since we had not had any food or water for three days. We had to use the dirty water to drink and wash. We remained at the one place where we found some shade for close to two weeks. Still, we had nothing to eat, no change of clothes and had to still sleep on the ground. Children were constantly crying. We were under full curfew, and when the army came close, my mom would put her white head cover hanging on a tree, a sign that we wanted peace."
Her family was not allowed to return home, as Israeli Occupation Forces demolished their home and village. They soon fled to Jordan, the only place they could go. There they lived in United Nations refugee camps and shared housing. In 1970, her family built a new home in Amman, Jordan, but the eruption of a civil war soon uprooted the family again and they decided to flee. With two brothers already in the U.S., Samira and her parents moved to Florida in 1972.
Her family was not allowed to return home, as Israeli Occupation Forces demolished their home and village. They soon fled to Jordan, the only place they could go. There they lived in United Nations refugee camps and shared housing. In 1970, her family built a new home in Amman, Jordan, but the eruption of a civil war soon uprooted the family again and they decided to flee. With two brothers already in the U.S., Samira and her parents moved to Florida in 1972.
Ms. Hussein would return to Jordan in 1976 to visit family, and it was during this trip that she met her future husband Mohammad. Because of the violence and continued conflict in the Middle East and Samira’s love of the U.S., the newly married couple returned to Florida in 1977. After a few years, they felt the climate was too hot so in 1982 they moved to Montgomery County. The family, including three sons and one daughter, moved to Gaithersburg in 1989 where Mohammad got a job nearby at the National Institutes of Health.
Ms. Hussein would return to Jordan in 1976 to visit family, and it was during this trip that she met her future husband Mohammad. Because of the violence and continued conflict in the Middle East and Samira’s love of the U.S., the newly married couple returned to Florida in 1977. After a few years, they felt the climate was too hot so in 1982 they moved to Montgomery County. The family, including three sons and one daughter, moved to Gaithersburg in 1989 where Mohammad got a job nearby at the National Institutes of Health.
Photos above from International Day in Silver Spring, 1992. Posing at right, Mohammad, Yazan, Yazeed, and Yousef Hussein (Photos courtesy of Samira Hussein)
Unfortunately, as the family started building a life in Gaithersburg, they were rocked with anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate violence, eventually resulting in the conviction of a local man almost ten years later. In the intervening years and through to today, Samira has made it her goal to educate people about cultural and religious differences, earning a long list of accolades. She visits schools, organizes cultural events, joins committees and boards to educate the community about Islam, Arab American culture and the Middle East, ultimately building bridges, sowing appreciation of differences, and contributing to a more stable and welcoming community for those immigrants who have arrived recently. In a 2022 interview, her advice for future generations was this: "Don't let language be a barrier to achieving your goals. Remember that communication is the key to any successful relationship. And ignorance is our biggest enemy."
Unfortunately, as the family started building a life in Gaithersburg, they were rocked with anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate violence, eventually resulting in the conviction of a local man almost ten years later. In the intervening years and through to today, Samira has made it her goal to educate people about cultural and religious differences, earning a long list of accolades. She visits schools, organizes cultural events, joins committees and boards to educate the community about Islam, Arab American culture and the Middle East, ultimately building bridges, sowing appreciation of differences, and contributing to a more stable and welcoming community for those immigrants who have arrived recently. In a 2022 interview, her advice for future generations was this: "Don't let language be a barrier to achieving your goals. Remember that communication is the key to any successful relationship. And ignorance is our biggest enemy."
Samira Hussein accepting the first proclamation issued by County Executive Doug Duncan designating April as Arab American Heritage Month, 1997 (Photo courtesy of Samira Hussein)