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Naji Al-Ali: Immortal Palestinian Cartoonist Mr. Ali Naji Awad al-Adhami Naji al-Ali developed a stark and symbolic style during his thirty-year campaign on behalf of the Palestinians. Unaligned with any political party he strove to speak to and for ordinary Arab people. His life was seamlessly interwoven with the trials of exiled Palestinians. Due to invasion, censorship and threats he lived in exile most of his life, much of the time between Beirut and Kuwait. The last two years of his life he spent in London.
Background, motivation & influences Though the exact date of his birth would appear uncertain, he was born in 1936 or 1937 in Al-Shajara village between Nazareth and Tiberias in Galile. In 1948 and at the age of 11 the young boy as many other Palestinians, was forced out of Palestine. Naji along with has family settled down in Ain-al-Helwe refugee camp in Sidon in Southern Lebanon. In the late 1950's the late Palestinian poet Gassan El-Kanafani discovered Naji's talent in drawing while on a visit to this camp.
Work, interests and philosophy Naji al-Ali finished his school education in Sidon but was unable to finish higher education in the Art institution he has enrolled in because of his family difficult financial situation. In the beginning of the sixties, the young man left to Kuwait to work in Al-Taliah magazine. In the early 1970's he returned to Beirut from Kuwait and was on the Editorial Board of the prominent Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir:
During this period he also contributed drawings to Al-Khalij newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. In 1982 during Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Naji al-Ali was an eyewitness to the terrifying massacre that took place in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila. The devastating experience urged al-Ali to leave the country he grew up in to settle in Kuwait. During this period, he worked for both Al-Qabas (meaning ‘The Light‘ in English) – the largest Independent daily newspaper in the Middle East - and Al-Khalij newspapers.
In 1985, and due to political reasons the artist was expelled from Kuwait. He settled in London and continued to work for the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas. His work was published daily in Cairo, Beirut, Kuwait, Tunis, Abu Dhabi, London and Paris in publications ranging from far Right to far Left. He is thought to have been the highest paid cartoonist in the Arab world. Naji al-Ali had no political affiliations and the absence of slogans and dogma in his work brought both success and criticism. He was opposed to terrorism and the absence of democracy and, not belonging to any political group, tried to be a true representative of Arab public opinion.
Few regimes or political groups in the region escaped his satirical drawings. His cartoons portrayed the bitter struggle and plight of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation and oppression. He also campaigned against the absence of democracy, widespread corruption and gross inequality in the Arab world. He was said to have antagonized virtually everyone in the Middle East, Arab, and Jew, conservative and radical alike. He believed his period of work in Beirut was the best part of his career and that his periods of exile in Kuwait and the UK restricted his creativeness in ways he could not understand and counter. He missed the inspiration of the reality of the refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Naji al-Ali's philosophy can perhaps be best encapsulated in his explanation about Hanzala, the little boys who appears as a spectator in each of his cartoons:
Hanzala is now the official logo of the Commission for Freedom and Justice Through Humor, a recently created arm of WATCH and an affiliate of UNESCO. Censorship Naji al-Ali was frequently detained by police and continually censored. He received many death threats during his life. Because of his work he was said to be one of the most wanted men in the Middle East and this forced him to leave Lebanon and work in Kuwait and London. He emphatically refused to speak about his oppressors and those who might censor his work; he drew them instead. The Death Of Naji al-Ali On Wednesday July 22nd, 1987 he was shot in the head by a lone gunman as he was going to work at the Al-Qabas offices in Ives Street, Chelsea. After five weeks in a coma on a life support machine in a St Stephen's and Charing Cross hospitals in London, he died at 1am on Saturday 30th August at the age of 51.
He was posthumously awarded the annual Golden Pen award of the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ) in 1988. This award is given to recognize outstanding actions in favour of freedom of expression and the jury was composed of publishers from 28 member countries. Individual publishers in Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Pakistan are associatemembers as are 13 leading western news agencies. References: i) Invaluable help was kindly provided by the late Naji al-Ali's son
The Life and Death of Naji Al-Ali Al-Salam Alikom!
From that point on Naji had a cause. His cause was the quest for justice for his people. He had to work for a living, but his mother never allowed him to compromise his education which is considered since then till now by the Palestinian people as important as bread and water. Although he was raised in a tough refugee camp, he was not a violent person. Drawing was his obsession. The teachers in the UNRWA (United Nation Refugees Welfare Agency) noticed his talent and his ability to draw cartoons so they encouraged him to study Art and that he did. As he finished, the oil money was flowing in the gulf (1000 miles from home). Kuwait was building its infrastructure and needed everyone who could do just about anything. Naji packed his miserable bag and marched to Kuwait to work as an Arts teacher in a school. Kuwait was the best place for a Palestinian to be in back then. Short working hours (relatively), which left enough time to sharpen his political ideologies. George Habash a doctor became the communist founder and leader of the PFLP. Yasser Arafat a civil engineer wore the kefyee – the scarf - and established Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) with some other guys. Gassan Kanafani another Arts teacher went to be a spokesman for the PFLP (you can find some of his novels both in Arabic and English in the UCD library 956/KAN). Naji as I said was a peaceful man and took the road that he knew he will be best in. That was to be a cartoonist! Cartoons in Western newspapers are used to laugh without a real message generally. Cartoon was the magical word for Naji because it is short and powerful and even the illiterate (which is usually the victim) can get the message and understand it fully. Naji had a cause that he wanted to teach.
His cause was really about oppression and the weak. My turn came here. I Hanzalah was the hero of an old Arab myth. As I told you my name stands for a short bitter bush which grows nearly everywhere even in the desert. That was it, a bush that is weak but if you cut it, it will grow back again. Naji drew me like a child turning my back to all the people looking at me watching the scene, which was usually horrible with my hands behind my back. People wondered what I looked like. What am I thinking; am I angry? am I sad? , or just contemplating deeply? or just another coward who is watching without having the nerve to stand up for oppression. This was the trick because YOU ARE HANZALAH! The way you look at Hanzalah is the way you really are. Naji held Israel first and foremost as the one responsible for their catastrophe. He attacked the Arab governments without any exception for blaming Israel for their failures. He attacked the Gulf States, which he lived in for their submission to the west. He even stood for the abuse of human rights in all Arab and Muslim countries and exposed directly countries and states. He talked about the rich and the poor where a gap was widening in booming Kuwait and the wider Arab and Muslim world.
He even attacked the PLO and PFLP for their corruption and use of honest fighters sacrifices for their own personal glory. All of that and I was standing watching in creepy silence. No wonder, governments were enraged and sent envoys one after the other to Kuwait which was embarrassed and seemed to be losing friends by every daily edition of Al-Qabas newspaper. After they had failed to buy my silence (which is ironic because I was silent already). Naji was deported with our family to war torn Beirut. I guess they wanted us to get killed there in the civil war. He worked for a Lebanese newspaper called Al-Safeer, which in it he had his most productive years even the threats on his life were getting serious. In the summer of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO once and for all. The Lebanon invasion transformed Naji. He witnessed how the country was invaded by land, sea and air. And how 10 thousands honest Lebanese and Palestinian Muslims resisted 90 thousands Israeli soldiers with all of their modern weaponry for 88 days under siege in East Beirut being bombarded by what is equivalent to the two atomic bombs on Japan. All that happened while Muslim Iraq was fighting Muslim Iran. While most Arab countries were oppressing their own people. Arabs and Muslims just stood and watched the Arab capital of light invaded slowly and painfully, while the world was watching the world cup in Spain. But it even got worse. The PLO decided to leave Lebanon if Israel promised that the Palestinian civilian refugees would be safe. Israel agreed but in September 1982 the Israeli tanks surrounded the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatiela and stopped anyone getting in or out. The next two days were among the ugliest in history. 2800 Men, Women and children Palestinian and Lebanese Muslims were massacred in the streets of camps by guns, knives and axes. The Israeli and their Christian Lebanese allies took their revenge for their failure to control Lebanon. The tanks soldiers even used glowing lights at nighttime because time couldn't be wasted. After the discovery of what happened, the world was enraged but helpless. Israel reacted to this Nazi style massacre by admitting its “indirect” responsibility and “punished” Sharon the engineer of Lebanon occupation and invasion by stopping him for life from being a defense minister. After, he became the foreign an deputy prime Minster in the 1998, and now, the current prime Minster of Israel. America considered Israel admission of its responsibility as a great proof of its democracy that it should be congratulated for! At that point Naji's enemies were terrified from what he made me do. Their security services put our names on top of the WANTED list.
They even considered the time when I turn to my old self again as someone conspiring against the regime, planning a demonstration even a revolution. My action scared them and my silence horrified them. Who killed my father? Of course no one dared to admit it. But whoever it was they were all in it and certainly all happy to never see me on paper again. Yes, they killed my father; they could erase me by censorship. But can they kill every Hanzalah dreaming of the day when he will go free. Building his determination to untie his hands and ask for what is his right. They may kill Naji but they will never kill Hanzalah. Written by: another Hanzalah who dared to speak.
Naji Al Ali: Immortal Palestinian cartoonist By Lubna Khader With daring drawings on the walls of the Palestinian camp 'Ain Al Helwa in south Lebanon, his professional life started, and with daring drawings in the most prestigious Arab newspapers, his life ended. © 26 August 1999
By Mamoun Asfour During the 30 years since I started drawing, I feel I have been through every Arab prison and I ask myself: What is to come after all this? I was prepared to die defending just one drawing, because every drawing is like a drop of water which makes its way through the minds of people." Naji Al Ali. THROUGHOUT HISTORY, artists have faced the threat of violence when their work went up against the state or political elite. The late Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al Ali produced thousands of cartoons satirizing the powers that be in the Middle East and outside. In the end he paid the ultimate price for what he believed as the right to express himself. On 22 July 1987 he was shot in the head at point blank range as he left the London offices of the Kuwaiti Al Qabbas newspaper. He died after laying in a coma for five weeks. Though the exact date of his birth is uncertain, he was born in 1936 or 1937 in the village of Al-Shajara between Nazra and Tiberias in Galilee. During the 1948 Arab- Israeli war, he and his family, like many others, were forced to leave, dispersing throughout the Arab world. The Al Ali family's first stop was the Ein Al Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon. At the end of the 1950s, the late Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani discovered Naji's talent for drawing while on a visit to the camp.
Naji Al Ali developed a stark and symbolic style during his 30-year campaign on behalf of the Palestinians. Not a member of any political party, he strove to speak to and for ordinary Arab people. His life was seamlessly interwoven with the trails of exiled Palestinians. Due to invasion, censorship and threats, he lived in exile most of his life. Naji Al-Ali was an uncompromising critic of a regressive Arab political culture and western intervention in Arab affairs. Interviews with leading Arab journalists and poets, former jail mates, and others point to his unrelenting commitment to his people, as do his subtle satirical cartoons that stirred the hearts of millions of refugees. The work of Naji Al Ali, an artist with a vision, examines the forces that shaped him as an artist, a human being, and shows how his experiences mirrored those of other exiled Palestinians. Known as the Palestinian Malcolm X, he is still the most popular artist in the Arab world, loved for his defense of ordinary people, and for his criticism of repression and despotism. His unrelenting cartoons exposed the brutality of the Israeli army and earned him many powerful enemies. Through his work, Naji Al Ali condemned the absence of human rights in the region. He believed his period of work in Beirut was the best of his career and his periods of exile in Kuwait and the UK restricted his creativity in ways he could not understand. He missed the inspiration he got from the reality of the refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Al Ali's philosophy can perhaps be best encapsulated in his explanation about Hanzalah, the little boy who appears as a spectator in each of his cartoons: "This child, as you can see, is neither beautiful, spoilt, nor even well-fed. He is barefoot like many children in refugee camps. He is actually ugly and no woman would wish to have a child like him. However, those who came to know 'Hanzalah', as I discovered, later adopted him because he is affectionate, honest, outspoken, and a bum. He is an icon that stands to keep me from slipping. And his hands behind his back are a symbol of rejection of all the present negative tides in our region." The memory of Naji Al Ali will live on through many generations. Today young cartoonists take their inspiration from this remarkable individual. These artists do an outstanding job of introducing the personality of Naji Al Ali by drawing on the most important events shaping his work, including thousands upon thousands of political drawings he published in his lifetime. Naji Al Ali was posthumously awarded the annual Golden Pen Award of the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers in 1988. This award is given to recognize outstanding actions in favor of freedom of expression and the jury was composed of publishers from 27 member countries. He died on 30 August 1987 at the age of 49. © 2001 The Star (Amman).
La vita e la storia di Naji Al-Ali Naji Al-Ali nacque nel 1937 ad Asciagiara: in arabo 1'albero, un piccolo villaggio nell'alta Galilea, fra Nazareth ed il lago di Tiberiade.
La sua famiglia, composta da quattro figli, oltre al padre ed alla madre, era la classica famiglia contadina che viveva della coltivazione della terra intorno all' abitazione. Ciٍ spiega, in parte, il valore della terra, che compare in molte delle sue vignette.
All'indomani della prima guerra mondiale e della caduta dell'impero ottomano, l'intera regione mediorientale, vista la sua importanza strategica, venne suddivisa fra Gran Bretagna e Francia. Il movimento sionista, forte della "dichiarazione di Balfour", colse il momento,incrementando fortemente l'immigrazione ebraica in Palestina, e scatenando il terrore tra la popolazione araba indigena, mediante azioni terroristiche delle bande sioniste di "Irgun", "Stern" e "Haganah".
I nuovi immigrati si insediavano nei villaggi palestinesi e nelle colonie agricole, una volta cacciati gli abitanti e contemporaneamente sorgevano insediamenti ex novo.
Sia questi che le colonie, venivano edificati in stretta vicinanza dei villaggi palestinesi, su terreni di proprietà palestinese, una minima parte dei quali veniva comprata ai latifondisti, mentre la maggior parte veniva espropriata con la forza.
Fino agli inizi degli anni trenta, nel villaggio di Asciagiara, come del resto in tutti villaggi e città palestinesi, regnava una pacifica coesistenza, tra mussulmani, cristiani ed ebrei palestinesi, ossia tra i nativi della Palestina, al di la delle loro credenze religiose.
Come avveniva regolarmente in quel periodo in tutta la Galilea per assorbire gli ebrei provenienti da tutte le parti del mondo, fu eretto un insediamento dall'altra parte della vallata in cui si trovava il villaggio di Al-Ali.
Gli ebrei originari di Asciagiara, credendo nella campagna condotta dai sionisti, lasciarono il loro villagio trasferendosi nell' insediamento.
Negli anni quaranta Asciagiara, subì numerosi attacchi militari da parte dei coloni per poi essere raso al suolo definitivamente nel 1948. "Li, la vita era al limite della dignita umana, vivevamo in sei in un'unica tenda la metà della quale era stata trasformata in una sorta di spaccio dove mio padre vendeva le sigarette, gli ortaggi, ed altri oggetti di poco valore" (dal quotidiano "Assafir" 11/6/'83). Nonostante l'estrema povertà della famiglia, i quattro figli frequentarono la scuola elementare del campo. Già da allora emerse uno spiccato talento di Naji per l'arte. Finite le elementari, Naji dovette interrompere gli studi per lavorare. Per qualche anno fece parte dell'esercito di manodopera a bassissimo costo nelle varie raccolte stagionali. Agli inzi degli anni cinquanta, Naji frequentò per due anni un corso di meccanica presso una scuola professionale a Tripoli in Libano. Finito il corso si trasferi a Beirut alla ricerca di un lavoro. Come casa aveva una tenda offertagli dall'UNRWA nel campo profughi di Chatila. Nel frattempo, soprattutto dopo la NAKBA del 1948, nel mondo arabo si stava diffondendo il "panarabismo" quale ideologia nonché strumento di lotta, non solo contro Israele per la liberazione della Palestina, ma anche contro l'Occidente imperialista. La vittoria della rivoluzione di Nasser in Egitto negli anni '50 diede al panarabismo una grande spinta. I palestinesi furono tra i principali fondatori e attivisti di questo movimento. Nel 1959 Naji si iscrisse al movimento per scoprire di non essere adatto alla militanza partitica. Infatti dopo appena un anno diede le dimissioni. Di questa sua militanza disse:
In questo periodo di militanza partitica, venne arrestato per ben sei volte. Ciò gli impedì di proseguire i suoi studi all'Accademia. Alla fine si trasferi a Tiro dove per tre anni insegnoò arte in una scuola locale. Naji fece anche parte di un gruppo teatrale "legato" al movimento panarabo ma gradualmente, si orientò verso un altro campo artistico, meno caro, di più facile esecuzione ed in grado di raggiungere più facilmente un maggior numero di persone: la caricatura. Del resto, lui stesso aveva già sperimentato la caricatura come "mezzo di comunicazione" durante la sua prigionia. Il quotidiano libanese "Al- Yaum" fu il primo a pubblicare le sue vignette. Nel 1961 conobbe Ghassan Kanafani (politico e letterato palestinese) che, colpito dalle sua vignette, le fece pubblicare sulla rivista "Al- Hurriyyeh", organo del movimento panarabo. Agli inizi degli anni '60 la situazione dei palestinesi in Libano ando sempre piu deteriorandosi. Gli spazi lavorativi ai quali potevano accedere, si stavano restringendo sempre piu. In Kuwait in quel periodo la stampa e l'attività giornalistica godevano di una certa libertà. La concomitanza di questi ed altri fattori, spinsero Naji ad immigrare in Kuwait, tra cui l'invito a collaborare alla rivista "Attali'a"(kuwaitiana), legata al movimento panarabo. In un primo periodo Naji fu parte integrante della redazione della rivista, come giornalista e vignettista. Presto però tale attività si rivelò insufficiente. In un'intervista rilasciata al quotidiano "Assafir", del 19/7/'83, ebbe, a tal proposito, a dire:
Così lasciò "Attali'a" per collaborare al quotidiano kuwaitiano "Assiyasat", dove lavorò fino al 1974. Naji continuò a mantenere uno stretto rapporto con la rivista libanese "Al-Hurriyyeh" dove regolarmente comparivano le sue vignette. La caricatura poteva e doveva svolgere un ruolo importante nella sensibilizzazione e nella mobilitazione delle masse per la difesa dei propri diritti. Cosi l'arte diventò per Naji Al-Ali un dovere in quanto strumento di lotta. Attraverso le sue vignette riuscì a trasmettere le giuste cause. Per fornirsi di maggiori strumenti, si mise a studiare le varie forme di caricatura e anche la storia e la cultura araba, interrompendo, di fatto gli studi accademici. Il soggiorno di Naji in Kuwait fu, quindi, determinante per la sua attività artistico-professionale. In quegli anni, infatti, riuscì a costruirsi una solida formazione, che gli consentì di affermarsi su diversi giornali e riviste, entrando a far parte del mondo, peraltro abbastanza esclusivo, dei vignettisti di fama mondiale. Nel 1973 scoppiò l'ennesima guerra arabo-israeliana. Era ormai evidente che l'alleanza di imperialismo-sionismo-paesi arabi conservatori, mirava a liquidare la questione palestinese. Facendo leva sui falangisti libanesi, l'alleanza scatenò, in Libano, una guerra civile, allo scopo di stornare l'attenzione della resistenza armata palestinese dai propri obbiettivi primari, e prepararne l'espulsione dal paese. Consapevole dei pericoli che correva la causa palestinese, Naji tornò in Libano nel l974, e li collaborò con il quotidiano "Assafir" fino al l983. Durante il periodo trascorso in Kuwait, attraverso le vignette, registrò e descrisse tutte le realtà e i temi che interessavano in quegli anni la vita del popolo arabo: le questioni sociali o di "costume", come la povertà, la burocrazia dei governi, la corruzione, ecc., tutti elementi diffusi allora come oggi nel mondo arabo; l'immigrazione iraniana nei paesi del Golfo negli anni '60; la situazione politica generale del mondo arabo, sottolineando l'assenza di qualunque forma di democrazia,sostituita, invece dall'ampio uso della repressione e del terrore, da parte dei regimi; l'unità araba; il petrolio ed il suo uso illegittimo; La guerra arabo-israeliana del 1973, provocò un grande disorientamento tra la popolazione araba, per le tante attese andate regolarmente deluse, e per il crollo di diversi regimi arabi. Il Libano non fu immune da tali ripercussioni "psicologiche". La "patria dei cedri", confinante con lo Stato Israeliano, e dove, grazie alle lotte, le forze socialiste e progressiste locali avevano fatto non poche conquiste, divenne un fertile terreno per la riorganizzazione della resistenza armata palestinese, dopo la sua espulsione dalla Giordania, in seguito ai tragici eventi del "settembre nero". In tale contesto, per destabilizzare un paese che poteva diventare fonte di non pochi problemi per gli interessi imperialisti-sionisti nella regione, l'alleanza Israele-Occidente scatenò una sanguinosa guerra civile sostenendo i falangisti e i collaborazionisti, nel sud del paese. Questa guerra non risparmiò nessuna famiglia, libanese o palestinese, residente in Libano. In moltissimi, per aver salva la vita, abbandonarono il paese. Naji, invece, rimase a combattere, con i propri mezzi, la guerra, ad incitare i proletari e gli oppressi ad unirsi nello scontro contro i fascisti e la borghesia, a non farsi ingannare dalle bandiere professional-religiose, dietro le quali si nascondeva il nemico di classe, quello sionista e fascista. Contemporaneamente, consapevole degli errori che venivano commessi dalle forze naziona- liste libanesi e dalla stessa resistenza palestinese, Naji non risparmiò, con l'ironia delle sue vignette, i loro leaders invitandoli a non dimenticare le masse ed a rimanere sensibili all'autenticità della causa. Ciò non lo rese particolarmente popolare in alcuni ambiti politici, anche palestinesi, specialmente in quelli che detenevano (e detengono tuttora) il potere nelle strutture dell'OLP. Inoltre, a rendere la sua posizione ancor più vulnerabile, era che Naji non militasse in alcuna forza politica determinata, né palestinese, né libanese. Egli, infatti riteneva di riuscire a dare di più alla causa lottando indipendentemente dalle istituzioni. In un'intervista alla rivista "Al- Hassna' Assahira", del l5/8/'75, Naji disse:
In conseguenza a questo suo atteggiamento, Naji Al-Ali subi diverse minacce ed alcuni cercarono di corromperlo. Convinto delle proprie idee, continuò a disegnare e ad esprimersi, portando avanti la sua lotta nel modo che riteneva giusto. Chi seguì l'opera di Naji Al-Ali in quegli anni, non potè non notare l'evoluzione delle sue vignette. Da semplice disegno umoristico, la vignetta, nel mondo arabo, si stava trasformando in uno strumento capace di far pensare alla possibilità e alla necessità del cambiamento radicale. Fino agli anni 60, infatti, la caricatura araba trattava solamente tematiche sociali, e Naji fu il primo ad usare la vignetta con profondi intenti politico-rivoluzionari. Così, nel giro di poco tempo, divenne, non solo l'espressione dell'umiliazione del popolo arabo, ma anche l'attento ed il sincero "portavoce" degli oppressi e dei poveri. Nel marzo '76 il "Centro Scientifico per l'Informazione", legato al quotidiano "Assafir", pubblicò il primo libro di Naji Al-Ali, che comprendeva diversi capitoli suddivisi per temi. E' superfluo sottolineare, a questo punto, come la questione palestinese fosse l'argomento principale delle vignette. Queste vennero esposte in vari Paesi del mondo: da Cuba al Kuwait, dalla Siria agli USA. Joan Afrique, una studiosa francese di origine africana, in un suo studio sulla caricatura araba, di Naji Al-Ali, scrisse:
La rivista londinese "Events" considerò Naji Al-Ali come "uno dei testimoni fondamentali della nostra epoca storica" ("Assafir" 7/ll/'80). Per due anni consecutivi, nel l979 e nel l980, Naji vinse il primo premio alla "Mostra del Disegnatore Arabo". e, sempre nel l980, divenne presidente della "Lega dei Caricaturisti Arabi". Con un futile pretesto, nel l982, l'esrcito israeliano invase il Libano. Lo scopo reale era quello di dare un colpo mortale alla resistenza armata palestinese presente in Libano, togliendo, quindi, ai palestinesi, una delle ultime carte a loro disposizione nella lotta contro Israele.
Arrivato a Beirut, Naji era sempre in prima fila per difendere la città e per proteggere i libanesi e i palestinesi dalla barbarie degli israeliani. L'assedio di Beirut durò per più di tre mesi. Naji disegnò tantissimo incitando, attraverso le vignette, la gente a combattere e a resistere fino alla vittoria o al martirio. In un'intervista all'ascia'b Al-Urduniyyeh del l0/l2/l984, Naji descrisse così quel periodo:
In coerenza con le sue idee e consapevole della vera natura del nemico, si dichiarò subito contrario alle trattative, sponsorizzate dagli USA, tra la leadership palestinese e gli israeliani. Anzi, andò oltre. Attraverso le vignette incitò i combattenti a non deporre le armi e a non farsi illudere dalle promesse americane. Era conscio dei pericoli che correvano i campi profughi palestinesi una volta disarmati e lasciati alla mercé degli israeliani e dei falangisti libanesi. Dopo nemmeno una settimana dalla partenza dei guerriglieri palestinesi (come sancito dagli accordi firmati tra le parti), l'esercito israeliano occupò tutta la parte Ovest di Beirut (dove risiedeva la popolazione palestinese nonché la resistenza nazionale palestinese).
I falangisti, appoggiati dai sionisti, consumarono uno dei massacri più orribili dei nostri tempi, quello di "Sabra e Chatila". In tal modo, conquistarono il pieno controllo di tutta la parte Ovest di Beirut.
Dopo la clandestinità, Naji immigrò in Kuwait. In un'intervista rilasciata alla rivista saudita "Al-Yamamat", del maggio l984, motivò così la sua decisione:
L'allontanamento dei guerriglieri palestinesi dal Libano e la loro successiva dispersione in diversi paesi Arabi diede un colpo pesante alla rivoluzione palestinese. Questo condusse Naji Al-Ali alla depressione o alla disperazione. I suoi ideali, l'unità araba, la libertà ed il socialismo, lo guidarono in questa fase molto delicata alla ricerca del come unire tutte le forze arabe su basi nuove per poter far fronte alle mire imperialiste e sioniste nella regione. Si rese conto che bisognava continuare a lottare instancabilmente, ognuno con i propri mezzi. A tal proposito, disse:
Tornato in Kuwait, iniziò a collaborare con il quotidiano kuwaitiano "Al-Qabas". In quei giorni le sue vignette attaccavano aspramente i regimi arabi per la loro totale sottomissione alla volontà degli USA. Il crescente terrore e l'escalation esasperata della repressione che i regimi arabi esercitavano contro i loro popoli, andavano di pari passo alle pressioni che l'amministrazione USA esercitava sui governanti della regione.
Il 2/2/1985, sempre a Kuwait City, espose la maggior parte delle sue vignette. La mostra durò dodici giomi, riscuotendo un notevole successo. Il quotidiano "Al-Qabas" commentò così
Nello stesxo anno la stessa casa editrice di "Al -Qabas" pubblicò il terzo libro di Naji Al-Ali. Il libro conteneva 208 vignette concentrate soprattutto sulle realtà di terrore e di repressione regnanti nel mondo arabo. A metà del 1983, scoppiò purtroppo, un conflitto armato fra le svariate fazioni palestinesi. Di conseguenza invitò tutti coloro che erano fedeli alla causa a riflettere sui pericoli che incombevano sull'OLP per la totale mancanza di democrazia nelle sue strutture nonché per l'ormai evidente tendenza della leadership ad accettare i vari piani USA. Ad aprile del 1984, a Naji fu negato di partecipare alla mostra per la Terra di Palestina che si teneva a Kuwait City. Come se non bastasse, la destra palestinese riusci ad istigare gli studenti islamici delle Universita Kuwaitiane a scendere in piazza per manifestare contro di lui, accusandolo di ateismo e di anti-Islamismo. Contro questi attacchi gratuiti condotti dalle destre palestinesi ed arabe, a difesa di Naji Al-Ali scesero in piazza tutte le forze progressiste e nazionaliste arabe. La rivista kuwaitiana "Attali'a" del 5/4/1984 scrisse.
Il quotidiano "Al-Watan" del 15/4/1984 scrisse:
Nonostante l'enorme appoggio popolare che Naji Al-Ali ottenne in quei giorni, la destra Palestinese continuò la sua campagna. La cospirazione andò oltre. I burocrati palestinesi premendo sul governo kuwaitiano ottennero 1'espulsione definitiva di Naji nel novembre del 1985. Tutti i governi arabi gli rifiutarono accoglienza. Per questo decise di trasferirsi a Londra. Insieme a sua moglie ed ai suoi figli, si recò a Londra. La sua espulsione dal Kuwait nonchè il rifiuto di tutti i paesi arabi ad accoglierlo non lo misero in crisi. Questa nuova situazione diede piu vigore alla sua lotta. Da Londra continuò a collaborare con il quotidiano kuwaitiano "Al-Qabas". Inviò i suoi lavori anche al quotidiano giordano "Saut Ascia'b" che pubblicò regolarmente le sue vignette. Il suo sogno era di stabilire un contatto diretto con quella parte del Popolo Palestinese rimasto nella propria terra, in Palestina. Così, pur non condividendo il programma del Partito Comunista Israeliano, accettò di collaborare con il suo organo "Al-Ittihad". In tutta la sua vita, non cercò la fama, e ancor meno il successo economico. Mirò unicamente a servire il suo popolo e la sua patria, pagando a caro prezzo le sue idee ed il compito che si era prefisso. La sera del 22/7/1987, a Londra, uno sconosciuto gli sparò. Dopo più di un mese di coma, alle 5 del mattino del sabato 30/8/1987, Naji morì, lasciando in eredità al suo popolo, e al mondo, circa 40.000 vignette, frutto di 25 anni di instancabile e appassionata attività in favore degli oppressi di tutto il mondo. Source: http://www.tmcrew.org/int/palestina/najialali/vitanaji.htm
Naji al-Ali: The timeless conscience of Palestine by Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, 22 July 2004
On Wednesday July 22 1987 at five in the afternoon, Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al-Ali parked his car in southwest London, and walked a few meters towards the offices of the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas where he worked. He was shot in the head by a gunman, dressed in a denim jacket, who walked calmly away down Draycott, near Sloane Square and vanished. One of the first on the scene was Andre Muller, aged 27, of Putney, who was working in the Peter Jones store adjacent to Ives Street. He was summoned to the scene because of his first-aid skills. He said: "I felt his pulse to see if he was breathing and a few minutes later the police came along and told me to stay with him."
Naji al-Ali is one of the most influential commentators on Palestine. His works influenced all kinds of people, who used to wait impatiently every morning, to see his drawings on the last page of many Arab dailies. Every cartoon that al-Ali drew, featured his famous hand-made character-the bare-foot little boy 'Hanthalah' who turned his back to the world and who became a trademark throughout his long career. The idea came to him when he was working in Kuwait during the early 1960s. "I created this character to symbolize my lost childhood," he said.
To view some of the artwok were done by naji al ali please click here (Link removed/Temp. unavailable) .
Naji Al Ali, An Artist with Vision Director: Kasim Abid In July 1987 Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al Ali was shot in London by an unknown assassin. This documentary traces his life and work from his birth in Galilee to his death in London. It examines the forces that shaped Naji Al Ali as an artist and as a human being and shows how his experiences mirror those of other exiled Palestinians. To buy the video from first run: Click here
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My name is Hanzalah. In case you are wondering what Salam Alikom is; it is the Islamic way of saying halloo and it means "Peace be upon you!”. Well, as I told you my name is Hanzalah, which stands for a small bitter desert bush. I bet you are saying; what was my father thinking when he named me?
Naji al-Ali came to London in 1985. He was married and had five children. The editor of Al-Qabas, who was quoted in the London Times said that Naji al-Ali had received more than a hundred death threats over the years. "I don't know who could be responsible because he has been a critic of so many groups. But because of the way things are in Arab politics, nothing surprises me," he said. 
