Current location:Culture Clutch news portal > entertainment
VOX POPULI: Palestinian writer’s novel is a poignant echo of Gaza tragedy
Culture Clutch news portal2024-05-21 18:15:19【entertainment】6People have gathered around
Introduction“Why didn’t you knock on the sides of the tank? Why didn’t you bang the sides of the tank? Why? Why?
“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.
Address of this article:http://china.adventistmissionjapan.org/content-19c699979.html
Very good!(78388)
Related articles
- 'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
- Peng Yan Leads Team in Developing USVs
- Inter cruise to 4
- China opens taekwondo gold account at Hangzhou Asiad
- Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co
- Experiencing Uygur Culture in Kashgar
- Enhancing Business Development to Boost Rural Revitalization Following Poverty Alleviation
- Volunteer Barber Provides Free Haircuts to Seniors
- Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
- La Liga reduces Barcelona's spending cap to €204m
Popular articles
Recommended
Links
- The 7 Chinese Cities That Win Hearts of Tourists for Holiday Travel
- Moxibustion Treatment Picking up During Heat Waves
- 'She Sports' Trend Rings in Big Biz for Brands
- Seeing Anxiety Philosophically
- Panax Notoginseng Cultivation Contributes to Rural Revitalization in SW China
- China Int'l Big Data Expo Attracts Youngsters
- Zhejiang Makes Great Efforts to Protect Natural Environment, Traditional Culture
- 'She Sports' Trend Rings in Big Biz for Brands
- China to Ensure Women Employees' Rights, Interests
- People Visit Guangyang Isle for Ecological Education Tour in SW China's Chongqing