Naji Al-Ali became one of the most popular cartoonist in the Arab world He was assassinated as he walked towards the offices of Al-Qabas newspaper, July 22 1987 in London, UK [by Yasser Arafats assassins and thugs] Handala is the refugee child who is present in Naji Al-Ali’s cartoons, and symbolizes the struggle for justice Is depicted as a ten-year old Palestinian boy turned his back to the viewer from the year 1973, and clasped his hands behind his back. Naji Al-Ali, the drawer of Hanthala [Handala], 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 barefooted 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.!
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 17:42:18 +0000