Asira ash-Shamaliya -عصيره الشمالي

 
I am originally from Asira, a beautiful village about 3km from the city of Nablus. According to historians, Asira means “fire wood of the north”, according to my elders including the current mayor of the village, Asira comes from the word aseer-“juice” in Arabic, and it is referencing the village’s rich olive oil.

 My earliest memory of Asira was when I was around 5 years old, like everyone, my grandfather (allah yer7mo) had chickens, goats, and other animals living right outside the house. I spent all my time with the animals, specifically with the hens because of how cuddely and friendly  they were <3

  As I grew older, my friends and I would walk over a mile to spend the day on our family’s land. We’d lay on the dirt, climb the trees, and live on berries, figs or whatever the season brought us  till dark. My favorite thing to do in Asira was to sleep on the roof top, many people did it. I loved falling asleep to Palestine at night, the animals were pretty noisy then but it was somewhat comfort

 A popular place is bait al zaki  (house of Sweets) Bait zaki, also known as shajaret al eid (the eid tree) is one of the oldest and most cherished tree in the village. It’s said to be over 900 years old. Many people Study, celebrate, and gather there. This tree brings so much serenity to my people. According to my great uncle fawaz sawalha, a long time ago, the people in the village regarded bait

  Unfortunately Asira is under threat of illegal annexation. After July of this year, illegal settlers are buildings posts on the mountain of eibal, where bait zaki is