One of the pillars of my trip to Gaza with the Palestine Literature Festival
turned out to be an ongoing discussion regarding the essential
blackness of the Palestinian struggle and the need to form greater ties
with our “natural allies” from Africa and South America in particular.
At one event, a man in the audience questioned the usefulness of
seeking alliances or help from Africa, where, he said, people are
“hungry and poor and in need of help themselves.”
I pointed out that the image he holds of African peoples was planted in his mind by those who also plant the same image of us around the world. We, too, are viewed as helpless, hungry and needy. We, too, are seen as less human somehow, as savages, terrorists. The various layers and tempers of our and their intellectual, cultural, social and historical lives are ignored, or worse, intentionally obscured. Instead, the challenges of our societies are highlighted as all-encompassing truths.
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I pointed out that the image he holds of African peoples was planted in his mind by those who also plant the same image of us around the world. We, too, are viewed as helpless, hungry and needy. We, too, are seen as less human somehow, as savages, terrorists. The various layers and tempers of our and their intellectual, cultural, social and historical lives are ignored, or worse, intentionally obscured. Instead, the challenges of our societies are highlighted as all-encompassing truths.
Read more
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