One cannot speak of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 without touching upon identity and its ramifications. Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury’s novel, My Name is Adam is replete with questions and answers regarding identity, juxtaposed against inscribed recollections of the ethnic cleansing of Lydda. No matter the veneer one strives to don as part of the journey moving…
Tag: Memory
BOOK REVIEW: Jerusalem Stands Alone
Space, silence and encroachment intertwine, while a prevailing solitude emanates from the pages of Mahmoud Shukair’s novel ‘Jerusalem Stands Alone’, translated by Nicola Fares and published by Syracuse University Press. The title itself is an intense metaphor that is felt throughout the book. Jerusalem is alone and its inhabitants navigate the space between community relations,…
“The wound before winter” – Impressions of Palestinian Memory in Watercolour
The Wound Before Winter” is the prelude to the impressions which I have attempted to convey in this selection. Painted in the aftermath of US President Donald Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem, the colors used, as well as the focus on land, seek to convey the ramifications upon Palestinian territory, rather than an isolated focus as…
As Chilean Left Struggles to Preserve Memory, Right-Wing Pinera Government Works to Erase It
It is clear that former state-employed torturers have become emboldened since the electoral triumph of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. While last year’s presidential election illustrated the Chilean left’s disillusion with the center-left coalitions — resulting in a low voter turnout and a right-wing victory — for Chilean memory groups, the events now unfolding in the…
Impressions of Palestinian Memory in Watercolour
The initial idea for a series of paintings related to Palestine occurred after finishing “The narration of burnt olive trees”, which is the first in the series themed “Impressions of Palestinian memory in watercolor.” However, it is the last painting which I believe defines this collection, or contribution, as a writer and artist, to Palestinian…
Human Remains May Stir Memories Of Chile’s Dictatorship Past
Chile’s struggle for memory against a dictatorship-imposed oblivion has braced itself for another sliver of discovery. On July 28, water works-related excavations in Las Brisas led to the discovery of human bone fragments. Buried just 10 kilometers south of the town of Santo Domingo, the location corresponds to the vicinities of the first dictatorship era torture…
Chile must not forget dictatorship era crimes
Chile remains a country of contradictions, influenced by the struggle between memory and forgetting. The dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet has left a legacy that has not been adequately challenged since the country’s return to democracy. Human rights and memory groups in Chile have struggled against state institutions and military secrecy over dictatorship crimes. They demand,…
The Legacy of the Nueva Canción: An Interview with Patricio Manns
Patricio Manns, Chilean poet, author, singer and songwriter is one of the few whose work is a testimony to history. Despite current trends and contemporary politics, which contribute a difference to ideology and culture, Manns remains committed to the universality of the Nueva Canción, and continues to be a revolutionary voice, recognizing the necessity of it…
BOOK REVIEW: Rhetorics of Belonging
Moving away from the emphasis placed by the mainstream upon narrative when discussing Palestinian and Israeli literature, Anna Bernard’s academic treatise, “Rhetorics of belonging: nation, narration and Israel/Palestine” (Liverpool University Press, 2013) provides rigorous insights into often overlooked experiences of nation and narration. Identity construction of Palestinians and Israelis has been shaped externally by hegemonic…
Destroying the ability to think historically in Chile
The decision to remove the term ‘military dictatorship’ from Chilean primary school textbooks has been revoked, following the resignation of Alejandro Goic, a member of the National Council of Education (CNED). In his resignation letter to Minister of Education Harald Beyer, Goic cites discomfort at having to work with former Central Nacional de Informaciones (CNI)…
RAMONA WADI 