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I found this cartoon on another blog called “The Opinion Shop,” which is part of the larger periodical “The News & Observer.”
This cartoon makes us question how not only the actions of the Israelis and the Palestinians but also all of our decisions today will shape the world for future generations. Our generation has already inherited an economy on its knees and an unstable future, full of conflict and its aftermath. It is imperative to recognize that how we handle our own situation that we have come into will likewise be passed on again.
Furthermore, I immediately was reminded of the ending of The Lemon Tree when I saw this cartoon. When she replants the lemon tree with the children, Dalia examines the new sapling’s representation of the future of the struggle. She reflects that, “it meant moving on. It meant it’s te next generation now that’s going to create a reality. That we are entrusting something in their hands. We are entrusting both the old and the new” (264). Of course, as opposed to the cartoon, this passage relays much more of a sense of hope about the power of responsibility that the youth will hold in resolving (or not resolving) this conflict. They both, however, emphasize the reality that this conflict will indeed pass through more generations and each of these generations will greatly influence the outcome of the struggle.
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I find it interesting that despite the destruction of the homes and land, people still want it back or want to keep it. The destruction doesn't seem to make the land less desirable, maybe even more desirable, for it represents for both sides the struggle of a people and the honor of a people to reclaim/hold that land for the sake of the people.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was thinking the same thing. It's interesting how people are willing to destroy the land they love in order to win it. What are you really winning if your completely destroying your spoils?
ReplyDeleteI think we notice to with Arabs who returned to leveled Palestinian villages there still is a connection to that place as a home. Because the land of exile hasn't become a place to tie an identity to, the collective sense of being Palestine is still there. This memory persists even if the subject of remembrance is under rubble and beyond recognition.
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