The Palestinian cartoonist par excellence, Naji
al Ali is an artist who transcended fictional frontiers using lines that
draw free borders, the boundaries of freedom without pavements, the freedom
of the artist, the people, and the homeland. Every morning, for more than
13 years (1975 - 1987)
Palestinians
everywhere followed the cartoonist Naji al Ali in whichever newspaper he
published. His cartoons were re-printed in more than one form, and discussed
in every forum. He made everyone read the newspaper starting from the back
page.
Everyone who worked with him said that he
was wild, that the burning fire within him devoured everything, because
his heart was in his quill and his quill was easily agitated and inflamed.
He felt that Palestine was his own, and it will not return piece-meal,
but all at once, all at once from the river to the sea, or else, no one
will forgive. The bitterness within him was constantly expanding, and he
eventually thrashed at everyone with his ruthless quill.
His character was "Handala", a young boy with
curly hair whose back is always turned to the reader. His name means "bitterness"
in Arabic, and he represents the distress the artist felt. In describing
his work, Naji al Ali wrote:
"The child Handala is my signature, everyone
asks me about him wherever I go. I gave birth to this child in the Gulf
and I presented him to the people. His name is Handala and he has promised
the people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child who
is not beautiful, his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his
thorns as a weapon.
Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pampered
child, he is bare-footed like the refugee camp children, and he is an "icon"
that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smells
of Amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection
at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way.
Handala was born ten years old, and he will
always be ten years old. At that age I left my homeland, and when he returns,
Handala will still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws
of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal
again when the homeland returns. I presented him 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."
"What is the role of political caricature?
Its role is to bare life… caricature always hangs life to dry in the open
air and in the public streets… it grabs life wherever it finds it to place
it on the rooftops of the world where there is no place to fill the gaps
or cover its holes." "When will people see Handala's face? When Arab dignity
is no longer threatened, and when the Arab individual regains his freedom
and humanity. Still, the most tiring part is to continue the road with
all its contradictions.
The weariness of the homeland will always
remain deep inside." "Handala is the witness of the century who will never
die… the witness who entered life all of a sudden and will never leave
it. He is the legend - witness. This character was born to survive…I will
continue within him even after I die."
Naji al Ali was born in Ash Shajara village
in 1936, one of 480 villages destroyed after 1948. His family was displaced
to Ein al Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. Between 1957 and 1983 he worked
for a variety of newspapers in Lebanon and the Gulf. In 1983 he returned
to Kuwait to work for "Al Qabas" newspaper until 1985 when he was forced
to leave to London to work with the same newspaper in its London office.
During this period he published more than 40,000 cartoons. The New York
Times once wrote: "If you want to know what the Arabs think of the US look
at Naji al Ali's cartoons." The Time magazine also described him saying:
" This man draws with human bones." The 'Asahi' Japanese newspaper wrote:
"Naji al Ali draws using phosphoric acid."
On Wednesday July 22, 1987 at 17:10 Greenwich
meantime, Naji al Ali parked his car in central London, and walked a few
meters towards the offices of Al Qabas newspaper where he worked. A dark
complexioned, curly haired, young man surprised him with a bullet in his
head and ran away as Naji al Ali fell on the pavement. On August 29th,
Naji al Ali finally died in hospital and was buried on September 3rd in
Brookwood cemetery in Woking. His death marked the end of an era, and ironically,
the beginning of the Intifada in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Until
this day, his cartoons are used over and over again, and "Handala" is still
as relevant today as he was twenty years ago.