Update: Iconic symbol of Palestinian resistance on German postage stamp – photos

Handala, a famous caricature by Naji al-Ali representing a child Palestinian refugee, has recently been made into a stamp by a German-Palestinian charitable organisation in an effort to raise donations for the deplorable conditions of Palestine’s health sector. 

 

According to the Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster, the charitable organization ‘Beit Sahour’ aims to raise the awareness of the German people of the Palestinian struggle through the late veteran cartoonist Ali’s most famous iconic creation.   

 

Handala, also known as Handhala, is a 10-year-old boy representing Ali’s age when unwillingly go forth from his homeland Palestine to the south of Lebanon as a refugee due to the Israeli occupation. 

 

“Handala will still be 10, and then he will start growing up. The laws of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again when the homeland returns,”  statement from Ali quoted on Handala.org

 

 

Since its first appearance in 1969, the character is usually illustrated in the same pose: turning his back to readers while clasping hands, conveying a symbolic message of rejecting the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

Describing Handala, Ali said: “I drew him as a child who is not beautiful; his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his thorns as a weapon.”                 

 

Handala is dressed in worn-out attire and barefoot showing solidarity with the refugee camp children underprivileged Palestinians. 

 

In other artworks, Ali manifested his political views through profound, eloquent caricatures. However, Handala was his artistic signature portrayed as revolutionary, not merely an observer. 

 

“At first he was a Palestinian child, but his consciousness developed to have a national then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness,” Another statement from Ali quoted on Handala.org

 

 

 

Known for his trenchant criticism against the Arab regimes and Israel, Ali was detained more than once by the occupying forces. 

 

Handala had been employed in a plethora of conspicuous murals sprung up on Palestine’s walls representing the voice of the oppressed who have no other means to “scream out” for support.

 

The organization in coordination with with the German Post Authority have already issued the postage stamp for the category of regular sized envelope, the most popular envelopes in Germany.

 

Then, all the postage stamps, bearing Handala’s image, were purchased by the organization and have been sold to those who are interested in donating towards the development of Palestine’s hospitals.

 

 

The postage stamp initially raised a few eyebrows among Germans, then was met with a great deal of support after comprehending the goal behind the idea. 

 

Plans are underway to expand the idea on a larger scale during the upcoming gatherings of charitable organizations affiliated to protestant churches.              

 

Despite his assassination in 1987, Ali still lives on through his striking artworks that proved to notch up success over the years: he knitted the threads of past and future together as all the issues addressed in his caricatures have continued to embody Palestinians’ desperate struggle till the day.