Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Naji Salim Hussein al-Ali (1937 to August 29, 1987), a Palestinian cartoonist, was distinguished for his harsh criticism that deepened by attracting the attention of pioneering awareness through his cartoons, and he is considered one of the most important Palestinian artists who worked on pioneering political change using art as one of the methods of intensification. He has forty thousand cartoons, and he was assassinated by an unknown person in London in 1987 AD.
his life and upbringing
His exact date of birth is not known, but it is likely that he was born in 1937 in the village of Al-Shajara, located between Tiberias and Nazareth. After Israel occupied Palestine, he immigrated with his family in 1948 to southern Lebanon and lived in Ain Al-Hilweh camp, then he emigrated from there at the age of ten, and from that Since then, he has never known stability. After he stayed with his family in Ain al-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon, he was arrested by the Israeli forces as a boy for his anti-occupation activities. He spent most of his time inside the cell drawing on its walls. Likewise, the Lebanese army arrested him more than once, and he was also there drawing on the walls of the prison. He traveled to Tripoli and obtained a certificate as an auto mechanic. He married Wadad Saleh Nasr from the Palestinian town of Saffuriyya and had four children, Khaled, Osama, Layal and Judy. His son Khaled reproduced his drawings in several books that he collected from many sources, many of which have been translated into English, French and other languages.
his fee
The Palestinian journalist and writer Ghassan Kanafani had seen three works of Naji’s drawings during a visit to him in Ain al-Hilweh camp, so he published his first paintings for him.
In the year 1963 AD, he traveled to Kuwait to work as an editor, illustrator, and journalist. He worked for Al-Tali'a Al-Kuwaiti, Al-Siyasah Al-Kuwaiti, Al-Safir Al-Lebanese, Al-Qabas Al-Kuwaiti, and Al-Qabas International.
Handala
Handhala is a character invented by Naji Al-Ali, representing a ten-year-old boy. Handhala’s drawing appeared in Kuwait in 1969 AD in the Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah newspaper. He turned his back in the years after 1973 AD and held his hands behind his back, and Handala became Naji Al-Ali’s signature on his drawings. This drawing and its owner were loved by all the Arab masses, especially the Palestinians, because Handala is a symbol of the tortured and strong Palestinian despite all the difficulties they face. He is an honest witness to the events and does not fear anyone. Handala was born on June 5, 1967 AD, and Naji Al-Ali says that Handala is like an icon that represents defeat and weakness in Arab regimes.
other characters
Handala
Naji had other main characters that recur in his drawings, the Palestinian woman figure that Naji called Fatima in many of his drawings. Fatima's personality is an uncompromising personality, her visions are very clear regarding the issue and the way to solve it, unlike the personality of her husband, who sometimes breaks. In many of the cartoons, Fatima's response is categorical and angry, for example the cartoon in which her husband says crying: Forgive me, Lord, I want to sell myself to any regime in order to feed my children. Fatima replies: God does not forgive you for this currency. Or, for example, the caricature in which Fatima carries scissors and sews clothes for her children, while saying to her husband: I saw a banner that reads “Long live the working class” at the beginning of the street. As for the personality of her hardworking and struggling husband, who has a mustache, big feet and hands, which suggests the roughness of his work.
Opposite these two personalities stand two other personalities, the first is the fat, bare-ass figure who has no feet (except his butt), represented by the luxurious Palestinian and Arab leaders and the opportunistic traitors. And the character of the Israeli soldier, the long nose, who in most cases is confused in front of the stones of children, and malicious and evil in front of the opportunist leaders.
Sayings of Naji Al-Ali
A drawing by Naji al-Ali on a wall in occupied Ramallah, Palestine, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his assassination
Whoever wants to write for Palestine, and whoever wants to paint for Palestine, wants to know his condition: he is dead.
This is how I understand the struggle: to crucify our stature like spears and not get tired.
The road to Palestine is neither far nor near, it is as far as the revolution.
He is accused of bias, an accusation that I do not deny. I am biased towards those who are “beneath.”
To be or not to be, challenge existing historical responsibility.
Regarding Handala, Naji says:
“Handala was born at the age of ten, and he will always remain at the age of ten. At that age, he left Palestine, and when Handala returns to Palestine, he will be after ten years, then he begins to grow old. The laws of nature do not apply to him because he is an exception, just as the loss of the homeland is an exception. As for the reason for his hands being tied, Naji al-Ali says: I shouldered him after the October 1973 war, because the region was witnessing a comprehensive process of adaptation and normalization.
When Naji Al-Ali was asked about the date of seeing Handala's face, he replied: When Arab dignity becomes no longer threatened, and when the Arab person regains his sense of freedom and humanity.
Works about
The artist Nour Al-Sharif made a film for him in the name of Nagy Al-Ali, which caused an uproar at the time, and some affiliated with the Egyptian government demanded that the film be banned, because of its criticism of the Egyptian regime.
source
Achievements and Awards
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