cúisle mo chroí

I had the pleasure of attending a discussion with graphic journalist Joe Sacco last night at the Brooklyn Public Library. It was both my first visit to the library and the first time I’ve heard Sacco talk about his work.

Footnotes in Gaza chronicles Sacco’s quest to uncover the truth about what happened during two incidents in Khan Younis and Rafah in November 1956, when a large number of Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers. He was compelled to delve further into what was obviously a significant event that has since been relegated to a “footnote” in the history books, but surely helped to “plant seeds of anger and grief that lead to present-day events.”

Competing truths, how the past lives on in peoples’ memories, the importance of remembering the past and the impact it has on the present and future–it was impossible not to think of the current efforts to develop a truth recovery process in the North of Ireland–and in particular the work that I am trying to do with Relatives for Justice. The following excerpt is taken from the introduction and was read at last night’s event:

As someone in Gaza told me, “events are continuous.” Palestinians never seem to have the luxury of digesting one tragedy before the next one is upon them. When I was in Gaza, younger people often viewed my research into the events of 1956 with bemusement. What good would tending to history do them when they were under attack and their homes were being demolished now? But the past and the present cannot be so easily disentangled; they are part of a remorseless continuum, a historical blur. Perhaps it is worth our while to freeze that churning forward movement and examine one or two events that were not only a disaster for the people who lived them but might also be instructive for those who want to understand why and how–as El-Rantisi said–hatred was “planted” in hearts.