Today marks the 20th anniversary of Naji's death. A man who did what few people have dared to do. He was never intimidated by the threats he received when he criticised those who were wrong, were they Israelis or Arabs. No matter how highly they ranked.
As he used to say "I am charged with being biased. It is a chargeI don't deny... Personally, I am biased in favour of my class. I am not liying to myself or being hypocritical to anyone. The case is clear that there is no room for interpretations.The poor are the ones who die, they are the ones who are imprisoned, they are the ones who truely suffer."
He also explained his main character, Handala: "Handala was born at 10 years old. At that age I left my homeland. When he returns he will still be ten, he will only then start to grow. The known rules of nature do not apply to him, he is an exception. Because losing a homeland is an exception and things become natural when the homeland returns."
Handala was an exception, just as every Palestinian is. The rules of this world do not apply to us. just as the rules of nature do not apply to him.
Naji was also an exception, he would have been 70 this year, and he could have contributed so much to the way we see the world now because he refused to yield to the silencer.
1 comment:
All the way from San Francisco I read your blogs because they are the truisms of lived experiences.
I hope everyone at the cce is doing well...
Fred
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