Spacing Debt: Obligations, Violence, and Endurance in Ramallah, Palestine

209 Pages·2020·6.549 MB·English

by  Christopher Harker

SPACING DEBT

C H R I S T O P H E R H A R K E R
spacing debt
O B L I G A T I O N S , V I OL E N C E ,
A N D E N D U R A N C E I N
RA MAL LA H, PA LE ST INE
duke university press durham and london 2020
© 2020 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞
Designed by Aimee C. Harrison and Drew Sisk
Typeset in Minion Pro and IBM Plex Mono
by Westchester Publishing Ser vices
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Harker, Christopher, [date] author.
Title: Spacing debt : obligations, violence, and endurance in Ramallah,
Palestine / Christopher Harker.
Description: Durham : Duke University Press, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2020017125 (print)
lccn 2020017126 (ebook)
isbn 9781478009900 (hardcover)
isbn 9781478010968 (paperback)
isbn 9781478012474 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Consumer credit—West Bank—Rām Allāh. |
Palestinian Arabs—Economic conditions—21st century. |
Debt—Palestine. | Debt—Political aspects—West Bank—Rām
Allāh.
Classification: lcc hg3756.p 19 h375 2020 (print)
lcc hg3756.p19 (ebook) | ddc332.7/430956942—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017125
lc ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017126
Cover art: Arab Bank atm in Ramallah. Photograph by Christopher Harker.
Illustration and design by Aimee C. Harrison and Drew Sisk.
For Sue, beloved wife, daughter, sister, mother.
Our sadness at your passing knows no limits.
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CONTENTS
|
acknowl edgments ix
1 debt/space/ramallah 1
2 a history of debt in palestine 21
3 theorizing debt space 41
4 thinking debt through the city 61
5 debt and obligatory subjectivity 94
6 debt, vio lence, and financial
crisis ordinariness 121
7 politics as endurance 143
8 dealing with debt? 162
|
169 bibliography
|
185 index
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ACKNOWLE DGMENTS
First and foremost, this research would not have been pos si ble without Reema
Shebeitah and Dareen Sayyad. Their contribution went well beyond research
assistance. I’m grateful for their hard work, numerous insights, patience, and
good humor throughout. Many thanks to both of their families too. Islah Jad
introduced me to Reema and Dareen while she was Director of the Institute
of W omen’s Studies at Birzeit University.
Many thanks to all the families that participated in this research, welcomed
me into their homes, and shared what were often very intimate details about
their lives. A special thank-y ou to my landlord, Abu Hussam, and his entire
family, who looked after me and my partner in the fullest sense of that term
when we lived in Um al Sharayet.
I have benefited imm ensely from the friendship, guidance, and support
of Lisa Taraki and Rema Hammami, both at Birzeit University. My thanks to
every one else who helped me in vario us ways during my time in P alestine.
This includes Nasser Abourahme, Yazan Al Khalili, Diana Alzeer, Zaid Amr,
Yazid Anani, Hanna Baumann, Lisa Bhungalia, Simon Davis, Faris Giacaman,
Samir Harb, Omar Jabary Salamanca, Craig Jones, Kareem Rabie, Yara
Saqfalhait, Omar Tesdell, and Dorota Woroniecka- Krzyzanowska. Par tic u-
lar thanks to Maha Sammam at the Centre for Jerusalem Studies, Al Quds
University; Samir Abdullah at the Palestine Economic Policy Research
Institute–m as; Khaldun Bshara at Riwaq; Mandy Turner at the Kenyon In-
stitute, Jerusalem; Lisa Taraki at Birzeit University; and George Giacaman
at Muwatin: Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, for the invi-
tations to talk about my initial findings and get feedback on the proj ect at
an early stage. A special mention also for the 2015 International Conference