First published on Qoshan Thakafi by @lina-abubaker - Aug 26, 2026
Here, you see the face of Handala, exactly as Naji Al-Ali used to draw him before the martyred artist decided to turn him into a silent witness, turning his back on injustice and corruption.
In this documentary, Handala’s face is revealed, making him an active participant across numerous scenes. He appears at times as a Lebanese Zajal poet, and at other times as a karate fighter—sometimes on the receiving end of a beating, and at others landing blows on his opponents. Handala is shown here as a prisoner. Because he embodies a humanitarian, pan-Arab, and national dimension, he is no longer merely a barefoot refugee camp boy, nor just a Palestinian criticising Palestinian division; rather, the late artist positioned him as an Arab witness, and at other times as Vietnamese, Asian, or Latin American. Today, he stands to speak for all free people across the world.
