Yusuf Sayigh: An Incomplete Autobiography. Yusuf Sayigh (1916-2004), born al-Bassa in Northern Palestine, was a Palestinian economist, patriot and pioneer of the Palestinian National movement. Dr. Sayigh's memoirs have a multi-faceted significance: historically, socially, politically and scientifically. It sheds light on the era before the partition of Palestine (1948) and reveals details that will motivate the reader to study the period further. It reveals some political realities and critical moments of the Palestinian cause.