From Nakba Child Refugee to Germany’s ‘Grandfather of Refugees’

For Palestinian Sharif Abu Jaber, the pain of displacement became the starting point for a lifetime of helping others. His story spans seven decades, linking his own flight as a child during the Nakba to his support for Arab refugees in Germany.

Known as the “grandfather of refugees,” Abu Jaber has become a source of reassurance for newcomers facing the uncertainty of life far from home. His work draws on an experience he shares with those he helps: the loss and upheaval of forced displacement.

The child who once needed refuge grew into someone others could turn to. That journey gives his story its human weight, placing a personal understanding of exile at the heart of his efforts to support arriving refugees.

Across 70 years of service, Abu Jaber has turned his own suffering into a commitment to others. His story offers a portrait of solidarity shaped by displacement, and of hope sustained through helping people begin again.