Handala
Handala is a cartoon character created in 1969 by Palestinian political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, depicted as a ten-year-old refugee boy perpetually shown from behind, barefoot in ragged clothes with spiky hair, embodying the displacement and steadfast defiance of the Palestinian people.[1][2] Al-Ali, who was expelled from his village of Al-Shajara at age ten during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, modeled Handala after his own childhood experience in a Lebanese refugee camp, making the figure a personal avatar of exile and resistance.[2][3] The character's back is turned to the viewer—symbolizing rejection of external gazes and media portrayal—while facing toward Palestine, with al-Ali stating that Handala's face would only be revealed upon the refugees' return home.[1][4] Handala appeared in thousands of al-Ali's over 40,000 cartoons, often as a silent observer critiquing both Israeli policies and Arab leadership failures, underscoring a commitment to unsparing political satire over partisan loyalty.[1] Following al-Ali's assassination in London in 1987—widely attributed to his criticisms of the Palestine Liberation Organization—the character endured as an icon of Palestinian sumud (steadfastness), proliferating in graffiti, murals, and protest art across the West Bank, Gaza, and diaspora communities.[5][3] Despite its roots in al-Ali's independent journalism, Handala has been co-opted in contexts endorsing militancy, reflecting tensions between its original humanistic intent and later appropriations in polarized narratives.[5]Creator and Historical Origins
Naji al-Ali's Life and Career
Naji al-Ali was born in 1937 in al-Shajara, a village in the Tiberias district of northern Palestine.[6] In 1948, during the events of the Nakba, his family was displaced by Zionist forces and fled to Lebanon, settling in the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon, where they lived in a small tent measuring approximately 10 square meters.[6] [7] As a child in the camp, al-Ali began drawing on walls and surfaces, initially aspiring to become a painter but later focusing on caricatures to convey political messages in accessible language.[7] Al-Ali received an elementary school certificate in 1951 and a diploma in car mechanics in 1953 from the White Fathers Technical School in Tripoli, Lebanon.[6] In 1959, he enrolled at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut but did not complete his studies due to repeated detentions by Lebanese authorities for his involvement in Palestinian nationalist activities between 1958 and 1963, during which he continued drawing on prison walls.[6] [7] Self-taught as a cartoonist, his professional start came in the early 1960s after encouragement from Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, who facilitated his first publications in the magazine al-Hurriyya in 1962; al-Ali also worked briefly as a drawing instructor at Ja‘fariyya School in Tyre.[8] [6] From 1963 onward, al-Ali's career advanced through positions at Arab newspapers, beginning with editor and illustrator roles at al-Tali‘a in Kuwait (1963–1966 and 1968–1974), followed by caricaturist at al-Siyasa in the same city (1968–1974 and 1976–1978).[6] He contributed to al-Safir in Beirut from 1974–1976 and 1978–1983, then joined al-Qabas in Kuwait on its editorial board (1983–1985) before transferring to its London office in 1985.[6] His work, syndicated across Arab publications, totaled over 40,000 cartoons critiquing Arab regimes, Western policies, and the Israeli occupation, leading to multiple expulsions, including from Kuwait and Lebanon in the 1980s.[8] [7] Al-Ali published drawings in outlets like al-Yawm and compiled collections, including posthumous volumes such as A Child in Palestine (2009), with earlier books appearing in 1976, 1983, and 1985.[6] His recognition included first prize at the 1979 Arab Caricatures Exhibition in Damascus and, posthumously, the 1988 Golden Pen of Freedom from the World Association of Newspapers, as well as ranking among the top ten global caricaturists by Japan's Asahi Shimbun.[6]Development and First Appearance of Handala
Handala was created by Palestinian political cartoonist Naji al-Ali in 1969 as an embodiment of the Palestinian refugee child, drawing directly from al-Ali's own displacement from his village of Al-Shajara during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War at age ten.[1][9] Al-Ali fixed the character's age permanently at ten, stating that Handala would remain so until his return to Palestine, symbolizing arrested development amid ongoing exile and resistance. The figure was designed as a barefoot boy in simple, ragged clothing—shorts, a shirt, and torn shoes—claspng his hands behind his back, evoking simplicity, defiance, and rootedness to the land rather than urban sophistication.[4] The character debuted in al-Ali's cartoons published in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah on an unspecified date in 1969, initially facing the viewer to represent direct engagement with Palestinian struggles.[10][9] By 1973, al-Ali modified Handala's pose to turn his back to the audience, a change intended to convey the child's role as an observer of events rather than a participant, underscoring detachment from Western or external gazes while witnessing Palestinian suffering and resilience.[10] This evolution reflected al-Ali's maturing critique of Arab politics, leadership failures, and the broader dispossession of Palestinians, with Handala serving as the artist's alter ego and a constant witness in over 40,000 cartoons produced until al-Ali's death.[5]Symbolism and Artistic Design
Visual Characteristics
Handala is depicted as a ten-year-old Palestinian refugee boy, the age of creator Naji al-Ali at the time of his displacement from his village in 1948.[1][11] The character is consistently shown from behind or in profile, with his face never visible to the viewer, emphasizing a posture of observation and refusal to engage directly with the audience.[1][12] His physical features include spiky hair resembling hedgehog spines or porcupine quills, intended to convey protection and defiance.[1][13] Handala wears ragged, tattered clothing that signifies poverty and simplicity, paired with bare feet to underscore his connection to the land and rejection of Western influences.[1][14] His hands are typically clasped or crossed behind his back, maintaining a stance of quiet vigilance amid the scenes of political satire in al-Ali's cartoons.[13][4] This unchanging visual form, established in its definitive style by 1973 after initial appearances in 1969, serves as al-Ali's signature across thousands of political cartoons, rendering Handala a static yet enduring figure of youthful resilience.[5][15]Core Symbolic Meanings
Handala, created by Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali in 1969, symbolizes the eternal plight of Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, known to Palestinians as the Nakba. The character is depicted as a 10-year-old boy—the age al-Ali was when his family was expelled from their village of Shajar near Tiberias—frozen in time and refusing to age until his return to Palestine.[16][1] This perpetual childhood underscores the unresolved trauma of exile and the unfulfilled promise of the right of return, as affirmed in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 on December 11, 1948.[1] The figure's turned back and hidden face represent silent observation and refusal to engage with the world on its terms until justice is achieved, embodying sumud—the Arabic concept of steadfast perseverance in the face of adversity.[17] Barefoot and clad in ragged clothes, Handala evokes the dispossession and humility of refugee life, while his presence in every al-Ali cartoon signifies an unyielding witness to Palestinian suffering and resistance against occupation.[18] The name "Handala," derived from a bitter wild artichoke plant common in the Levant, further connotes the harshness of displacement and the resilience required to endure it.[16][4] Beyond individual refugee experience, Handala has evolved into a broader emblem of Palestinian national identity, defiance, and hope for liberation, appearing ubiquitously in protest art, graffiti, and merchandise as a marker of collective determination.[19] Al-Ali intended the character to critique not only Israeli policies but also Arab leadership failures, positioning Handala as a universal symbol of oppressed peoples' endurance against imperialism.[18] This multifaceted symbolism persists, with Handala invoked in contemporary contexts to highlight ongoing conflicts, such as the Gaza war since October 7, 2023, without altering his core representation of unchanging struggle.[1]Role in Political Commentary
Function in al-Ali's Cartoons
Handala functions as the signature recurring character in Naji al-Ali's political cartoons, appearing in nearly every one of his works produced between 1969 and his death in 1987.[1][5] Depicted as a barefoot 10-year-old Palestinian refugee boy with his back turned to the viewer and hands clasped behind him, Handala primarily serves as a silent observer witnessing the satirical depictions of political events, leaders, and injustices.[1][20] This role embodies the Palestinian conscience, providing a steadfast, unyielding viewpoint on issues such as the Israeli occupation, Arab regime hypocrisies, and failed diplomacy, without direct verbal commentary.[1][5] Al-Ali introduced Handala in 1969, two years after the 1967 Six-Day War, as a reflection of his own childhood during the 1948 Nakba, and from 1973 onward consistently showed the character with his back turned, signifying rejection of externally imposed resolutions to the Palestinian plight.[1] In this capacity, Handala acts as an "arrow of the compass" guiding the cartoons' focus toward Palestine and a just cause, while protecting the artist's moral compass against compromise.[20] Al-Ali himself stated that Handala was "the symbol of a just cause" and a personal icon that prevented artistic or ideological deviation.[20] Though predominantly passive, Handala occasionally participates actively, such as throwing stones to represent resistance or touching heroic figures, underscoring themes of defiance amid frustration with passive diplomacy.[1] Cartoonist Joe Sacco has noted Handala's knowing silence as a critique of political hypocrisy, positioning him as aware yet voiceless in the face of outrages.[1] This dual function—eternal witness and occasional resistor—reinforces Handala's role in al-Ali's oeuvre as the enduring voice of dispossessed Palestinians, frozen in perpetual childhood to symbolize unresolved displacement.[5][20]