You wanted to tell us this morning about a little character that all Palestinians know!
His name is Handala – or Hanzala, if we want to get closer to the Arabic – and he will be forever 10 years old. It was created in 1969 by one of the most famous Palestinian cartoonists: Naji Al-Ali and, in half a century, Handala has become a symbol:
A symbol of Palestine, just like the keffiyeh, this black and white scarf. But an astonishing symbol because Handala turns his back, he has three hairs standing on the stone, he is barefoot and he has patched clothes.
With his hands behind his back, as if observing without reacting, Handala is the symbol of Palestinian resilience.
Why is this little character forever 10 years old?
This is the age Naji Al-Ali was when he became a refugee in 1948 upon the creation of the State of Israel. It is estimated that 40,000 caricatures were published in several Arab newspapers.
An acerbic cartoonist who attacked the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as much as the Arab regimes and even Yasser Arafat’s PLO. Clearly, Naji Al-Ali annoyed everyone and he paid the price.
In 1987, he was murdered in the streets of the British capital and his murder has never been solved. But his little character survived him. It can be found in graffiti on the walls of Gaza City or Ramallah.
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Why tell us about it today?
Because Handala has found a second youth: pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the world have made him one of their emblems: at Columbia University, he appeared on the banners.
In Madrid, at the head of the processions for Gaza; In Sweden, a boat named Handala belonging to the so-called “coalition for freedom” flotilla in support of the Palestinians came to dock in the port of Malmö, during Eurovision.
In Italy, a publisher specializing in comics associated with Japanese artists has designed a poster of 104 small characters, all from behind, in the iconic Handala position.
One last detail: Handala in Arabic is derived from the name of a kind of colocynth found in the Mediterranean, but especially in the Fertile Crescent. A medicinal plant, very bitter but capable of surviving in the most difficult conditions.
