Better to Light a Candle...

Naji al-Ali, creator of the character Hanthala, has truly lit a candle to lighten the darkness of the Palestinian refugees.  Hanthala has stolen the hearts of Palestinians everywhere.  Al-Ali says that Hanthala “represented the honest Palestinian who will always be on people’s mind.”  Joe Sacco wrote the introduction and describes Hanthala as epitomizing the “poorest, most powerless Palestinian.”  His hands are behind his back, and his back is always to the reader.  He is only an observer, but he observes everything—Israeli oppression, Arab leaders, the U.S., and even his neighbors.

   A Child in Palestine was published in 2009, twenty-two years after al-Ali’s assassination, yet sadly, Hanthala’s observations are as relevant today as they were when they were first published in newspapers throughout the Arab world. 

   The English captions and introductions to each section give the Western reader a greater understanding of the plight of the Palestinians than they could ever get from Western publications.  Al-Ali presents a view of the Palestine problem as seen from the inside. 

   The simple cartoons are heavy with irony.  Like Hanthala, the cartoons observe the absurd whenever it exists.

   A Child in Palestine, published by Verso, is available from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Child-Palestine-Cartoons-Naji-al-Ali/dp/1844673650

Things that make me feel proud

In today’s world there are many things that make me upset, embarrassed, even ashamed to be a member of the human race. Fortunately, every now and then a person steps forward and sparkles like a gem to make the rest of us breathe a huge sigh of relief that the human race just might be worthy of the name after all. It’s even better when you have a personal connection to that person, as though a bit of the sparkle rubs off.

One such person is Lisa Suhair Majaj, the author of Geographies of Light. I first met Lisa when she was a bright smiling student in my fifth grade math class in the American Community School in Amman, Jordan—way back when.

In the years that followed, Lisa and I were linked by more than long division and fractions. We both developed a political conscience that would not be denied. Palestine and the injustices perpetrated on the Palestinians that go apparently unnoticed by the world became a centerpiece of our writing.

I write novels in an attempt to show the Palestinian refugees as I know them—loving, caring, hard-working, and long-suffering.  Lisa’s poetry is more direct. It speaks from her heart to the heart of the reader. 

No one who reads Lisa's poetry can help being touched by her words and the poignant emotions behind them.  Her award-winning book Geographies of Light is a collection of poetry that expresses the Palestinian experience in a profoundly personal way yet mirrors the emotions felt by an entire nation.

Lest you think that poetry about the loss of one's homeland is dark, dank, and dreary, I have asked Lisa's permission to quote the first two stanzas of "I've Been Searching."

I’ve Been Searching for years without success. I’ve checked in all the obvious places: police station, courthouse, town hall, legislature, White House. I’ve looked under the judge’s desk, behind legal tomes in the law library, in between the stitches on the flag. More than once I’ve hunted through history, scouring the cascade of centuries for some shred of evidence. But each plunge into the past reconfirms my suspicion: if justice is somewhere to be found, it’s hidden well. Once, tiring of the unending saga, I did what any self-respecting American would do: placed an ad in the personals. Of course, I focused on specifics: if you flounder in generalities no one will pay the slightest attention: “40-something Palestinian woman, curly brown hair, olive skin, hazel eyes, loves music, nature, good stories with happy endings, deprived of a homeland for half a century, seeks partner (tall-dark-handsome optional) for peace-making, nation-building, a little activist world-shaking. Must be equitable, funny, kind; committed to human rights; willing to follow international law. Fondness for garlic and dancing (all kinds) a plus. No photo necessary.”

Lisa’s description of the partner she seeks in “I’ve Been Searching” affected me personally.  She wrote an amazing description of the man I married long before she began her search, and long before I even knew that those characteristics were the ones I would treasure for many decades as we took our life-long journey together. 

Thank you, Lisa, for saying it so well.

*     *     *     *

The full text of the poem can be found at http://web.mac.com/renkat/Autumn_08/Lisa_Suhair_Majaj.html along with another of her poems entitled “Night Sky.

The book may be ordered from http://www.amazon.com/Geographies-Light-Lisa-Suhair-Majaj/dp/1934832081

More about Geographies of Light and Lisa can be found at http://electronicintifada.net/content/words-flower-fragile-bodies-poignant-poetry-lisa-suheir-majaj/10890