A
placard of Nasser Abu Srour is held aloft during a 2015 demonstration
marking Palestinian Prisoner Day in the West Bank town of Bilin, near
Ramallah. Photograph: Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images
Attempts
to end the violence in Gaza have focused on the exchange of Israeli
hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October for Palestinians held in Israeli
prisons. One of the many Palestinians is Nasser Abu Srour, who has been
incarcerated since 1993 for his alleged involvement in the death of an
Israeli intelligence officer during the first intifada.
This is the fourth time the prospect of freedom has been raised, the
past three ending in disappointment, even when his release was part of a
2013 peace process pledge brokered by the Obama administration.
His
experience might be difficult to imagine but for the extraordinary
memoir he has written, translated into lyrical prose by Luke Leafgren.
“This is the story of a wall that somehow chose me as the witness
of what it said and did,” he begins. In a prison, walls are ever
present, the single reliable feature of the world. The idea of the wall
becomes a focal point for Abu Srour’s narrative, the stability to which
he clings,the source of comfort and continuity.
His humanity shines through, even as he endures an incarceration with no end in sight
[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully
Palestine]
Today marks the release of Nasser Abu Srour's prison memoir THE TALE OF A WALL. Imprisoned since 1994 and with no hope of release, Srour's memoir is a soaring existential inquiry that refuses to be bound by the walls of his captors.
Encouraging to see major publishing houses bringing this out in several countries. Find it in the USA from @otherpress, @penguinrandom in the UK, and @Feltrinelli_ in Italy.
~~~~~
The Tale of a Wall: Reflections on the Meaning of Hope and Freedom Paperback – April 30, 2024
This
passionate autobiography—at once history lesson, prison memoir,
metaphysical inquiry, love story, and cry for justice—provides insights
into the Israeli occupation and the struggle of the Palestinian people.
One
of more than 5,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons before October
7, 2023, Nasser Abu Srour serves a life sentence with no possibility of
parole. From the Nakba to the disastrous consequences of the Oslo
Accords, he explains with great acumen how the Intifada of the Stones
(1987–1993) ultimately provided the only option for young Palestinians
in refugee camps to infuse meaning into their lives, especially as they
faced a constant threat of humiliation and manipulation by Israeli
intelligence. This uprising leads to Abu Srour’s incarceration, after he
was forced to confess, under torture, to involvement in the killing of a
Shin Bet officer who recruited his cousin as an informant.
Within
his cell, Abu Srour turns the Wall that has deprived him of freedom
into his interlocutor and the source of stability that allows him to
endure a chaotic, hopeless existence. The limitations of this survival
strategy—and singular literary device—become painfully evident when
falling in love causes Abu Srour to lose his grip on the Wall. Only by
writing the story of his imprisonment and the story of his love does Abu
Srour find his way back. In doing so, he has created a work of art that
transcends his pain while shining a glaring light on the ongoing
tragedy of the Palestinian situation https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1635423872/ref=sw_img_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
On the opening day of PalFest 2011 the Lajee Center held a brilliant children's festival.
The Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) brings Palestinian and international artists together for audiences across Palestine. It initiates and organizes cultural festivals with international and local participation. It organises workshops with students in Palestinian academic institutions in co-operation with Palestinian academics.
"At a time when the spectacular push for freedom in the Arab world is capturing the world’s attention, it is particularly important for PalFest to continue to travel to its audiences, imprisoned behind checkpoints; to work with its bookseller, threatened with deportation, and to forge creative links between Palestine and the world." PalFest founder Ahdaf Soueif
