Not even the coldness of the screen is able to dampen the emotions when you ask Susan Abulhawa (Kuwait, 1970) for what he saw in Gaza. “It’s hard to talk about… The violence, the horror, the deprivation, the degradation,” he says before his voice breaks. Months after spending several weeks in the Strip, the Palestinian writer and human rights activist presents the Spanish publication of ‘Sunrise in Jenin’ (Editorial Bold Letters), her first novel, initially published in 2006. Translated into 32 languages, and with more than a million copies sold, his story about the dispossession and forced exile of a Palestinian family expelled from their land in 1948 by troops of the nascent State of Israel made her the most read Palestinian writer in the world. Daughter of refugees, and living in Pennsylvania, she attends EL PERIÓDICO via videoconference.
In ‘Sunrises in Jenin’ he tells the odyssey of a family expelled from Ein Hod (near Haifa) in 1948, but it could be the story of any family of Palestinian refugees. What did you want to tell the world?
I wasn’t really talking to anyone in particular. I am a storyteller. And these are the stories of our lives. When I write, my loyalty is to the characters, to the story, and to an authentic and truthful way of narrating.
Did you miss this type of stories in Western literature?
Absolutely. It was really the first of its kind in Western literature. There was nothing like it until then, a novel with a multi-generational Palestinian story and that’s why I think it became an instant classic. And, you know, it’s intentional. Western editors are not interested in our stories unless they affirm Western stereotypes about us. I’m sure there are many books about a poor Palestinian woman who is the victim of several Arab men or things like that, things that feed into the ‘white European savior’ assumption or the idea that we are terrorists. Even history books with some popularity are rarely written by Palestinians. They are written by Israelis or other Westerners.
His parents lost everything they had in Palestine after the Six-Day War (1967) and had to go into exile, wandering through several countries. What impact did that have on your life?
My father and mother are from Jerusalem. And, as is the case for all Palestinians, the Israeli occupation of our land determines the course of our lives. My parents could not stay in Palestine, they were expelled, while other members of our family managed to hide and stay. All that destroyed us. It destroyed everyone’s lives. It broke families, when we come from a culture deeply linked to the land and defined by social cohesion, structured in clans, tribes and families.
Many Israelis often say that Palestinian refugees should accept reality, stop complaining and forget about the right of return.
It is the Israelis who should reconcile with their status as colonizers and return to the countries from which they came or learn to live as equals in the land to which they arrived. The other is nothing more than a colonial fantasy. Every colonizer has it. And they all say the same thing: “accept it.” But I’m sure they wouldn’t accept it if someone told them, “You were exterminated, so don’t try to seek compensation or recognition. Just accept it.”
What parallels do you see between the Nakba of 1948 and what is happening now?
During the Nakba, Israel was able to expel more than 80% of the indigenous population. He also did so through violence, pogroms and mass atrocities. But at least those who escaped were able to find some safety and rebuild their lives. What is happening in Gaza is extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented. There is nowhere to escape. People flee back and forth in an enclosed space, with bombs falling everywhere. It is a genocide. The population density, the smallness of the territory and the firepower make this daily massacre something without equal.
Why do you think something like this is allowed in the 21st century, when it is practically being televised through social networks?
Israel has managed to take over Western politicians. I don’t know how they do it, if it’s with money, bribes or blackmail. I don’t belong to that world. But these politicians definitely do not act according to the values they profess or according to the will of their population. The majority of humanity sees what is happening and wants it to end. Even in the United States, 70% of citizens want an arms embargo against Israel. But there is a small group of people who control the media, the economy and politics and act against the will of the masses.
I understand that he entered Gaza last spring. Was it as you expected? What impacted you the most?
It was infinitely worse than anyone could imagine. It’s difficult to talk about it. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. The violence, the horror, the deprivation, the degradation… I had never even read anything like that in history books.
[se emociona]
I’m sorry, I’m just human. What the world is seeing are the moments of spectacular violence, the tip of the iceberg. And that’s horrible enough. But there is much more. People dig for days with their hands to try to pull others out of the rubble, who die trapped and dying. Everyone can hear them, but no one can save them. Many of them are children. Since there is no help, there are no shoes. Something as basic as shoes! And then there is the degradation of children. Suddenly you see them excited and choosing uniforms because they will have some time at school or music class. And a while later, you see those same three-year-old children carrying cans of water. Everyone spends their time looking for water and something to eat while they are being bombed.
What do you think when you hear Netanyahu or Biden say that this is a war against Hamas or a war to eradicate terrorism in the region?
It’s a lie, pure rubbish. They are the biggest monsters. Hamas poses no threat to them. When someone is a threat, they don’t bombard them like that. And the proof is in how they acted against Iran, with very calculated and cautious measures. Israel is a threat to the Palestinians, but also to humanity and morality. It is a threat to international law and the international order that the West claims to defend.
What do you think is Israel’s ultimate goal in Gaza?
They have said it themselves, so we should listen to them. Since 1948 they have been lamenting the 20% of Palestinians who managed to stay and for two decades they have repeated that they want to get rid of us. They have tried it in many ways. And now they have said it openly again: “we have to kill them all.” In their public discourse they are obsessed with our children, saying that we are a demographic threat. And they became even more obsessed when that huge natural gas field was discovered off the northern coast of Gaza. They have tried to keep him, but they can’t because he is outside their jurisdiction. Every time they have tried, the oil companies receive lawsuits and end up abandoning the project.
Sympathizing with the US has never been easy. You yourself were fired 20 years ago from a pharmaceutical company for the articles you published on the subject in the country’s press. Has anything changed in these 20 years?
Look at the students. They are facing serious charges (felonies), with potential prison sentences, for demonstrating against the genocide. For the first time in EEU history, a tenured professor was fired for opposing the genocide. She was specifically a Jewish professor at Columbia University. It’s terrifying.
What do you expect from Trump?
Trump is very unpredictable, but the team he has nominated for the Middle East does not bode well. None of us have high expectations. I do not expect Western politicians to liberate us.
Is there still hope for you?
Of course. I am inspired by our fighters, who continue fighting to see their people free even knowing that they are going to die. I am inspired by our activists, allies, students, and the nations that support us. The world is beginning to see the terror we have endured at the hands of Israel and challenge the racist representations that have been constructed about us. My hope comes from the moral weight of the masses, who are awakening. Also the intellectuals. Sooner or later, deeply unjust systems based on the supposed superiority of a people or a race end up falling. For all that I still have hope.
