Joe Sacco, a graphic novel artist, enters Israel/Palestine as an America who has heard Israel's side of the story of the Israel-Palestine conflict his whole life. Entering Israel to learn the Palestinians' side is a daring and exciting step to take. Sacco's journey begins in Egypt, before he travels to Palestine. As he enters Palestine he is immediately introduced into the Palestinian lifestyle. His appearance as an American journalist attracts so much positive attention that most Palestinians are willing to share their stories with him, for him to use in his text. Going from place to place, refugee camp to refugee camp, he can speak with one person and suddenly be acquainted with several other families. The Palestinians are so desperate for their story to get out into the world that they share it with Sacco.
The political conflict is not the only one portrayed in his graphic novel though.
After he has traveled from refugee camp to refugee camp and heard many of the same stories, (people getting shot in different places, late night raids from the settlers, land and houses being destroyed by the Israelis) he is ready to go back home. Before he leaves though he stays for a few days in Israel, where he meets two Israeli women, who want peace, but do not truly understand what the Palestinians' lives are really like. Here Sacco has an internal conflict. He is now attached to Palestine. He gets offended when outsiders don't understand or are ignorant in regards to this ancient and repeting conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment