Tuesday, August 29, 11:00 AM EDT

August 29 marks the assassination of Naji Al-Ali in 1987. Naji Al-Ali was a political cartoonist and writer born in the 1936 in the Palestinian village of Ash Shajara. At the age of 10 he was a victim of the Nakba and grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon.

In the 1970s he created the character Handala. According to Naji, “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...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."

You can learn more about Naji Al-Ali and Handala on Handala.org: Through the Eyes of a Palastinian Refugee. Then consider joining us for this week's Kumi Now Online Gathering, as we explore how art is a critical piece of Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Our guest will be Rania Elias, director of Yabous Cultural Centre.

To register: Week 35: Art as Resistance Online Gathering 2023 – KUMI NOW

Background info: Week 35: Art as Resistance – KUMI NOW