Handala in Ireland

CrossFireArabia
Culture
June 9, 2026

In Ireland today, there is the statute of Handala, the Palestinian boy cartoon who refuses to turn around until Palestinian is liberated.

The sculpture in County Clare has been created by Irish artist Peloloca as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and a dedication to the tens of thousands of children killed in Gaza by the Israeli war machine.

The statute, hoisted in early June 2026, is based on the character drawn by the late cartoonist Naji Al Ali created in 1969 to represent Palestinian dispossession.

Here is a word from Handala

My name is Handala.

Grownups ask me what my name means.
I tell them it is the name of a plant that grows in the harshest of conditions. Grownups always seem to need to have things explained for them.

I am from Palestine.
I don’t live there anymore, but I will return.
I’m always on the lookout for how soon I will.

Some tell me I should pay less attention to what’s happening. They say I should focus on something else. Change my clothes. Stop walking barefoot.
Show my face before I go back home.
I will never understand grownups.

What about you?
I hope you’re not a grownup.
I would love to know who you are, where you are from, what feelings run through your heart as you go to sleep.

My name is Handala.
I am Palestinian.
Will you be Palestinian with me?

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Iraqi Book Fair: 600 Publishers From 28 Countries

Heba
September 7, 2026

The 27th Baghdad International Book Fair has attracted more than 600 local, Arab and international publishing houses and agencies from 28 countries, marking the largest international participation in the event’s history, an organizer said Sunday. The participating countries include 17 Arab and 11 non-Arab states alongside research and scientific institutions, Abdul Wahab al-Radi, head of the fair’s organizing committee, told Anadolu. He said the fair features numerous cultural activities, while participating publishers are showcasing “tens of thousands of recent publications” across its halls. Al-Radi also highlighted the strong turnout of Iraqi visitors seeking to purchase newly published books. He said the attendance demonstrated Iraqi readers’ interest in “the latest international, Arab and Iraqi publications,” helping broaden their knowledge, learning and culture. The fair also carries “another message to the world: that Iraq is well and Baghdad is well,” he added. Al-Radi said the strong attendance reflected the importance of reading and culture to the Iraqi public. The fair opened on Sept. 2 and will run until Sept. 12. According to Al-Radi, the participation of 28 countries is the highest number recorded in the fair’s history.

Culture News