VOX POPULI: Palestinian writer’s novel is a poignant echo of Gaza tragedy
Time:2024-04-30 12:56:36 Source:worldViews(143)
“Why didn’t you knock on the sides of the tank? Why didn’t you bang the sides of the tank? Why? Why? Why?”
The Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani’s (1936-1972) novel “Men in the Sun” ends with an anguished cry of lament from a Palestinian water tank truck driver.
“You” refers to three Palestinian refugees. They attempt to smuggle themselves into Kuwait to find jobs with the help of the driver and hide inside the closed water tank at checkpoints.
At the Kuwaiti crossing, the men die from the heat as they do not knock on the sides of the tank to seek help.
The novel was published in 1963. Fifteen years earlier, Israel had declared its independence and about 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes during the 1948 First Arab-Israeli War.
Kanafani, who became a refugee at the age of 12, joined the liberation struggle and was assassinated when he was 36.
The ongoing fighting in Gaza makes me reflect on the history of the Palestinian issue. The armed conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas began half a year ago, but its roots trace much further back.
It’s always the civilians who suffer in these situations. In the past six months, about 33,000 people have died in Gaza.
Homes have been destroyed, hospitals have lost their ability to function and restrictions on land transport have escalated a hunger crisis.
According to an international nongovernmental organization, in northern Gaza, people are forced to survive on an average of 245 kilocalories a day (equivalent to about 1.5 slices of bread). Children are dying from hunger and malnutrition.
“Food is a universal human right,” argued the World Central Kitchen aid organization, which had been delivering food to starving people in Gaza by sea. They provided more than 43 million meals in Gaza, but seven of their staff members were recently killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Help is being sought by banging on the sides of a tank. It is outrageous to see even those who noticed and reached out to help also being killed.
The echoing “why” in the desert described at the end of the novel now continues to resonate in my head.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 7
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Previous:Michael Sheen looks unrecognisable as Prince Andrew in first look at Amazon's A Very Royal Scandal
Next:2 hikers drown after falling into creek on Tennessee trail
You may also like
- Horoscope today: Daily guide to what the stars have in store for YOU
- Chinese FM meets with Vietnamese deputy PM in Beijing
- China willing to deepen strategic mutual trust with Indonesia: Wang Yi
- China's top liquor brand reports 15.59 pct profit surge in Q1
- Posts misrepresent Green Party candidate’s comment on a Jewish homeland
- Camilla beams with Charles by her side again
- 3 Louisiana officers wounded by gunfire in standoff with shooting suspect, police say
- CBA playoffs: Shanghai beat Zhejiang to even series
- Chinese military ready to boost ties with Indonesian counterpart: defense spokesperson