The occupation has held Palestinians in various prisons, some of them small and called jails; others larger and called towns and villages, which are surrounded by military checkpoints, walls, and settlements. […] This book is an attempt to translate headlines into stories and illustrations, so that you, the reader can see and feel the reality of Palestinian life.

From the Preface to the book Power born of Dreams. My story is Palestine  – Mohammad Sabaaneh, Ramallah, Palestine, 2020.

Mohammad Sabaaneh is a Palestinian political cartoonist and artist. The idea for this book was conceived during the author’s imprisonment. As a political prisoner he spent several months in Israeli prisons.

Why a graphic novel? The artist had a difficult task ahead of him. How to express in pictures something that cannot be expressed in photographs or words? His stark black-and-white linocut prints are uniquely suited to the stories presented in the book. A mixture of true stories with a supernatural element – a talking bird. A lonely prisoner meets a little bird who brings him news from outside the prison walls. ‘Ah, well, since you are an artist, I have a proposition for you. You bring the pencil and I will bring the stories.’ The artist then also shares his stories with the little bird.

With a handful of short stories about people from different areas of Palestine the book is an attempt to show Palestinians as individuals with lives, families and dreams. Not as numbers in statistics that we are so accustomed to seeing in the media. There is also a short essay section where you will learn more about the different areas within Palestine, which explains in plain and accessible language the historical context and legal status of Palestinians living in those areas.

In the story shown below about the young Palestinian couple expecting a baby, Amir is from Jerusalem and Manal is from the West Bank. Due to restrictions imposed by Israel, the couple cannot live in either of those places, they are forced to live in the area ‘inbetween’ called Kafr Aqab. When the time comes to give birth, the couple must fight against the clock, on the way to the hospital they are refused entry at one of the checkpoints and the baby is born on the street. The need to ask for permits as well as going through checkpoints in order to access basic medical care is a sad reality for many Palestinians, although it is a clear breach of their human rights.

The timeline in the book moves between the present and past events. By weaving in the story of one refugee from the original Nakba (literally ‘the Catastrophe’) with the contemporary stories, the author emphasises the continuity of Palestinian struggle. The forcible expulsion of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in 1948 to make space for Israeli settlers was not a one-off event but continues to this day.

The image below with the headline Palestine can be read as an ironic reference to vintage tourism advertisements. Instead of pretty postcard views we get a striking visual metaphor of what life in occupied Palestine can feel like. The maze represents how Palestinian land is divided into small parcels. Palestinians are not allowed to move freely between different areas. Children flying kites or playing on the swings cannot have a normal childhood because the wall, the watchtower and military checkpoints are a constant presence in their lives. Finally, the image of cactus is often used in Palestinian art to symbolise patience and defiance.

Beautiful and heartbreaking, this book is a must-read. See Palestine through the eyes of a Palestinian artist.

Power Born of Dreams: My Story Is Palestine by Mohammad Sabaaneh. Published by Street Noise Books (2021) Brooklyn, New York. (Arabic translation by Dalia and Mouin Rabbani, essays by Fatina J. Hodali).

See more:

Check out the book on the publisher’s website Street Noise Books. (This is not an affiliated link) https://www.streetnoisebooks.com/power-born-of-dreams-my-story-is-palestine