From refugee camp to Mount Everest: Salameh releases book tracking journey

AMMAN — The book “Dreams of a Refugee” that tells the story of the Jordanian mountaineer Mustafa Salameh who climbed his path from the heart of Wihdat refugee camp to the highest summit in the world was launched on Sunday in its Arabic version. 

The book is a biography of Salameh that tracks his story from various religious, spiritual and political aspects. 

He was born to Palestinian refugee parents, and after a chance to visit London and Edinburgh, he had a dream — a profoundly religious experience that would reinstate his faith and change the course of his entire life.

One night, Mostafa dreamt that he was standing at the highest point in the world reciting the call to prayer. Despite having no prior mountaineering experience or training, he was inspired to follow his vision and climb Mount Everest.

He failed his attempt to reach the summit twice before finally reaching the peak in 2008 and later became the first Jordanian to reach the North Pole and the “Seven Summits”. In 2016, he reached the South Pole, the first Muslim to have ever done so.

The book is prologued by his Majesty Abdullah II, in which he said: “Mustafa Salameh's story should be read for its larger message on the determination necessary to face real challenges and make a change for the better.”  

"Each of us has an Everest inside us, which we all can surpass if only we dare to dream.” Salameh said in his book. 

Salameh said that he shared his perspective regarding the Palestinian cause in the book as part of his identity as a son of Palestinian refugees and an Arab who believes in the right to return home, to Palestine. 

In chapter nine of his book, he writes: “This crisis and injustice are at the heart of my life, work and stances. Israel occupied my land. While Israelis talk about the holocaust and making movies about it, a human tragedy is happening everyday in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Salameh told The Jordan Times that there are talks about the book being produced into a movie by a Hollywood production company, but no deal was signed yet.

Salameh said that the script is in the works and he wants to make sure that the Palestinian cause is not distorted by any means in the movie. “Only then I would sign the contract” he insisted. 

“Wherever I meet people, I tell the real story of Palestinians, the story of the mother and father who left their homes and land forcibly. This cause does not only belong to Arabs or Muslims but it's shared by all of humanity, globally”, Salameh added.

"I was born to Palestinian refugees. Their struggle against injustice and for freedom has shaped my life. But I have refused to live anything less than an adventurous and free life. I hope my story will inspire people, including Palestinians, to break any proverbial chains and follow their dreams," he wrote in the book.