CrossFireArabia
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?
