In Memory of Dr George Awad

When I was asked to contribute a piece to the Special Issue of the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalysis in memory of my husband, Dr George Awad, I was pleased to have the opportunity to reflect upon his life in a way only someone who had been married to him for 36 years could. I loved George and we shared a full, exciting, challenging, and ironic life together.

George embodied the conflict within the Middle East, most specifically between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Born in 1942 in Acre, Palestine he became a refugee in 1948 and was among the first wave of people to leave their homes with their house keys in their pockets, and with the expectation that they would return with in weeks. George was also among the first group of Palestinians, who were told they did not exist, and more importantly among the first to make the decision not to disappear, as a culture or a people. In fact, George did the opposite of disappear — he lived his life as a proud Palestinian, working to improve understanding of the country and of the people that formed so much of his identity.

Early in our relationship I noticed his hesitation when he was asked where he was from. When I asked him about it, he said that that the place of his birth, a simple fact for most, is received by many as a political statement. George tried so hard not to be political. He just wanted to be a good doctor, a good analyst, a good husband, father and friend and he was. He also tried to limit his teaching, writing, and public speaking to the profession he loved, and he was successful. He was respected and loved, and spent his life helping others. However, despite his efforts, our lives were always affected by the six o'clock news, because he was Palestinian. It seemed no matter how hard he tried, his very existence was a political statement; and he could not escape the media, the reporting, and the questions from people he met.

When George did begin to address his personal history publicly, he did so