On July 22, 1987, Palestine's most famous cartoonist, Naji Salim al-Ali, was shot in London an by unknown assassin. He lapsed into a coma and died five weeks later on August 29.
During his lifetime, al-Ali drew more than 40,000 cartoons and was known for his sharp political wit and criticism of not only Israel and the US but also the Arab states. In his work he campaigned tirelessly for Palestinian self-determination and against corruption, the absence of democracy and inequality in the Arab world. His work was often censored and he received frequent death threats. He was jailed and was expelled from countries for his political commentary.
At 10 years of age, al-Ali and his family were forced to flee Palestine to Lebanon, when Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Lebanon, he and thousands of other Palestinians were forced to live in poor and overcrowded refugee camps. This experience gave birth to his most famous creation, Handala (sometimes spelled Hanthala or Hanzala), who was named after a sturdy but bitter native Palestinian bush that is hard to eradicate and which grows back stronger when cut.
Handala, dressed in rags and bare foot, according to al-Ali represented him at the age he was forced to flee Palestine.
"The young, bare-foot Handala was a symbol of my childhood. He was the age I was when I had left Palestine and, in a sense, I am still that age today. Even though this all happened 35 years ago, the details of that phase in my life are still fully present to my mind. I feel that I can recall and sense every bush, every stone, every house and every tree I passed when I was a child in Palestine."
Al-Ali explained that he "presented [his cartoon character] to the poor and named him Handala as a symbol of bitterness. At first, he was a Palestinian child, but his consciousness developed to have a national and then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness."
According to al-Ali, Handala "protected" his soul when he felt weary and prevented him from ignoring his duty to his people and their struggle:
"That child was like a splash of fresh water on my forehead, bringing me to attention and keeping me from error and loss. He was the arrow of the compass, pointing steadily towards Palestine. Not just Palestine in geographical terms, but Palestine in its humanitarian sense — the symbol of a just cause, whether it is located in Egypt, Vietnam or South Africa. I am from Ain al Helwa, a camp like any other camp. The people of the camps were the people of the land in Palestine. They were not merchants or landowners. They were farmers. When they lost their land, they lost their lives. The bourgeoisie never had to live in the camps, whose inhabitants were exposed to hunger, to every degradation and to every form of oppression. Entire families died in our camps. Those are the Palestinians who remain in my mind, even when my work takes me away from the camp."
In 1982, al-Ali again experienced first hand the military might of the Israeli Zionist state. Back in Ain Al Helwa refugee camp in Lebanon, he and his family and thousands of others were forced to flee. The subsequent butchery of Palestinian refugees shocked al-Ali to the core, none more so than the infamous massacre at the Sabra and Shatila camps in which 3000 unarmed Palestinian men, women and children were murdered in a joint operation by the Israeli military and their Lebanese allies, the Christian Phalangists.
In response, Handala's hands become more animated, raised in anger and against oppression: sometimes holding a Palestinian flag or throwing a stone as a sign of resistance but always in condemnation of those who betrayed the justice of the Palestinian cause.
Twenty years after his death, al-Ali's legacy continues to live on. He once remarked that "this being that I have invented will certainly not cease to exist after me, and perhaps it is no exaggeration to say that I will live on with him after my death".
Al-Ali's words continue to ring true. The image of Handala — the small refugee boy dressed in rags, silent in defiance and strong in resistance — can be found everywhere throughout Palestine. And while his image is prolific, he is of course found most at home in the Palestinian refugee camps — the place of his birth — where he remains a potent symbol of Palestinian resistance and defiance against all odds.
Samples of Naji al-Ali's cartoons can be found at <http://www.najialali.com>.
[This is an edited version of an article that can be found at <http://www.livefromoccupiedpalestine.blogspot.com>]