Handala: a study

Lately, despite my typical antipathy for cartoons (unlike Yasser Arafat who was apparently quite the Loony Tunes fan, according to the biography by Alan Hart that I am reading)I have become extremely into Handala. That character, seemingly simple with his hands clasped together behind his back, nevertheless conveys perfectly the sense of alienation by Palestinian youth who were cast away like dogs from their homeland following Israeli aggression in 1947-48 up to the present day, where little has changed. Naji al-Ali created one of the very few characters (Argentines like myself may argue that Mafalda is another), that I know of at least, that served not only as entertainment, but as a form of resistance not so much as propaganda for any particular resistance movement, but more as for a collective plea to consider the issue of human, particularly the children that Handala symbolizes, rights that affect the world, particularly the Middle East and specifically for the Palestinians.

Handala, through aesthetic appearance alone, may not be particularly striking to Western youth who are accustomed to seeing more "sophisticated" cartoon drawings that look three-dimensional and whatnot. To them, Handala must appear to be very ordinary and that is just what he is meant to be: An ordinary child who had the misfortune of being an undesirable (to Israelis at least) Palestinian and thus, not being able to live his life out freely as an uninhibited, self-assured child as he should. Instead, he has a submissive, melancholy although not particularly depressed (he is used to the situation) exterior as a boy forced to live his life witnessing when not violence, oppression and harassment on a daily basis, especially at military checkpoints. Only occasionally, when the situation becomes so unbearable that he cannot keep his hands clasped any longer does he partake in any resistance, typically throwing a stone in anger of some wrong committed by the military or similar oppressors.

Westerners would most likely be nonplussed were this youthful character to suddenly appear in one of their comic strips. Handala is not exactly funny, nor is he particularly endearing or cute (we never even see his face) but he is a very real character. He is no Charlie Brown or Dennis the Menace, he does not have the luxury of spending his hours attempting to kick a football or making trouble for his parents--his family goes through enough without having to handle a naughty child. But as aforementioned, while it may be depressing that Charlie Brown never succeeds in kicking the football, Handala is not meant to merely depress. However, since we cannot delve into his psyche, we must infer what he must be feeling through his outward appearance and outward environment, instead. We see that he wears tattered and dirty clothes and that he is usually (although this will change) submissive, but his head is never down and his back never arched. This shows us that in spite of severe hardship and a constant feeling of alienation, Handala does not feel defeated and hopeless. He believes, even through his witness of atrocity after atrocity, that perhaps, justice will someday prevail and he will one day be able to return to a liberated Palestine. As for his outward environment, he is constantly haunted with the presence of bombardments, helicopters, and false promises and false solutions from not only Israel but also from the PLO and UN. He realizes their words are worthless to him and so many others like him and their situation.

In later cartoons, Handala can be seen partaking in forms of active resistance like throwing stones or holding Palestinian flags. He makes the transition from alienated child to participating in an intifada. My theory is that this transition is almost inevitable when living under the regime--"Intifada" means "shaking off" and Palestinians at some point must "shake off" their feelings through some act of vocal resistance if they want to retain their sanity. Psychoanalysts always say that the worst thing a person can do is keep 0ne's feelings hidden inside of oneself and partaking in the intifada is one of the few ways to effectively express decades of pent-up anger and resentment. The flags serve to hold the Palestinians (who are now effectively the "people without a land"), although perhaps separated from one another, together as an expression of nationalism and patriotism for a land that was forcefully and illegally taken away from them without even compensation.

Handala is, in essence, the archetype of Palestinian youth and expresses their poverty, struggle, and sense of alienation that they must go through and also, their maturity, persistence, and audacity, in quite an effective way. I imagine most youth would be able to empathize with that feeling of alienation and displacement, although none as much as would a Palestinian youth be able to do so. Handala lives on as a symbol as a sort of a David to Israel's Goliath--a young child trying to end his situation by taking on a much bigger power with all of the spirit he has in him.