رواية " صباح في جنين" , لسوزان ابو الهوى

باللغة السويدية للروائية الفلسطينية- الأمريكية سوزان أبو الهوى


اراب نيهيتر-ستوكهولم

15-2-2011

للمرة الأولى تطل على القارئ السويدي رواية مفعمة بالأحاسيس الإنسانية والسياسة لما مر به الشعب الفلسطيني منذ تشريده من بلاده عام 1948 وحتى اليوم، مرورا بحرب 1967, ومعركة الكرامة وحرب أكتوبر والإنتفاضة الأولى والثانية. قصة " صباح في جنين" الرواية الأولى للكاتبة الفلسطينية – الأمريكية سوزان أبو الهوى تحكي قصة عائلة، من قرية عين حوض، تمتد لأربعة أجيال تذكرنا بقليل أو كثير برواية الشهيد غسان كنفاني "عائد إلى حيفا"، والمسلسل التلفزيوني " التغريبة الفلسطينية" للدكتور وليد سيف.

تبدأ الحكاية بعائلة يحيى أبو الهيجا، صاحبة كروم الزيتون في قرية عين حوض منذ عام 1940 التي تعيش بأمان وسلام وهناء , إلى أن أتت حرب 1948 فتحطم السلام وعلى المدى الطويل، وهُجّر أهل القرية وقرى ومدن كثيرة، ولجأ يحيى وأبنائه، حسن ودرويش إلى مخيم جنين. خلال تلك الحرب وتحت زخات الرصاص والقتل قام جندي إسرائيلي بسرقة الحفيد إسماعيل من حضن أمه داليا زوجة حسن، وهكذا تخسر داليا وطنها وابنها الرضيع.

أخذ موشي أفرام الطفل ليقدمه هدية غالية لزوجته التي فقدت والديها واعتدي عليها من قبل جنود النازية ونجت منهم، بعد أن فقدت القدرة على الانجاب.

أراد موشي تعويض ضعف زوجته بطفل فلسطيني تتبناه، وبذلك ينشأ إسماعيل، تحت إسم دافيد آفرام، الذي يخدم فيما بعد كجندي إسرائيلي في جنين منكلا بعائلته الأصلية, فيضرب ويعذب أخيه المقاوم يوسف عند أحد الحواجز. يوسف الذي قدر بأن معذبه هو أخيه إسماعيل الذي أصيب وهو رضيع بجرح ترك ندبة على وجهه الذي يشبه وجه يوسف.

ترزق داليا بفتاة تسميها آمال، الشخصية التي تنقل الأحداث في الأبواب ال 48 من الكتاب المؤلف من 380 صفحة. تصاب أمال في حرب عام 1967 بطلقة في بطنها وهي مختبئة في حفرة في مطبخ المنزل، ويختفي أبوها حسن،ربما استشهد، الأمر الذي يفقد داليا زوجها وعقلها، ومن ثم تصارع المرض لتتوفى في عام 1969.

بينما تتابع آمال حياتها بعيدة عما تبقى من أهلها في مدرسة داخلية، دار الطفل العربي" في القدس، حيث تحصل على بعثة دراسية في أمريكا. و يتزوج يوسف من فاطمة التي أحبها وينتقل مع المقاومة الفلسطينية إلى الأردن وبعدها إلى بيروت ويرزق بطفلة يسميها فلسطين.

يتصل يوسف عام 1981 من بيروت هاتفيا بأخته آمال التي تهرع لتسافر إليه وتقابله في مخيم شاتيلا. وهناك تقع آمال في حب الطبيب ماجد، صديق عائلة يوسف، وتتزوجه وتحمل منه، وتعود إلى أمريكا لمتابعة إجراءات السفر لماجد ويوسف مع عائلته.

أثناء ذلك تغزو إسرائيل لبنان، عام 1982، فيخرج رجال منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية من بيروت بوعود أمريكية لحماية من تبقى من الفلسطينيين هناك. في تلك الحرب تخسر آمال زوجها الذي أحبت بقصف على بيته، وتقتل فاطمة ببقر بطنها وإخراج جنينها, وتذبح ابنتها فلسطين في حضنها. أما يوسف المفجوع فيقوم بتفجير نفسه بالمقر العسكري الأمريكي في بيروت فيقتل ويجرح عشرات الجنود، ويتهم بالإعلام الأمريكي بالإرهاب. ويتم على إثرها ملاحقة آمال في أمريكا مخابراتيا من جراء فعلة أخيها يوسف .

تتابع آمال حياتها مع ابنتها سارة في أمريكا جسديا بينما روحها وقلبها وعقلها و جذورها في وطنها فلسطين، الأمر الذي انتقل إلى الإبنة سارة، التي أرادت العودة للوطن والتعرف عليه وعلى من تبقى من أفراد العائلة. في هذه الأثناء يشارف موشي على الموت ويبوح بالسر لإبنه دافيد " إسماعيل"، الذي يبدأ التفتيش عن عائلته ليصل إلى آمال، طرف الخيط في أمريكا.

تعود آمال وسارة إلى مخيم جنين ويلتقيا بإسماعيل، الذي طلقته زوجته بعد معرفتها بأنه عربي، ولحق بها أحد أبنائها وتركها الآخر ليعيش مع أبيه ،دافيد. يهاجم الجيش الإسرائيلي مخيم جنين عام 2002 ، ويرتكب المجازر هناك، أثنائها كانت آمال وسارة في زيارة إحدى صديقات الطفولة في المخيم. وجه أحد الجنود الإسرائيليين بندقيته إلى سارة ليقتلها فسارعت الأم بحماية ابنتها فتلقت الرصاصة التي أسقطتها على الأرض التي أحبتها. قام اسماعيل بدفن أخته آمال. في ظل تلك الأحداث تظهر شخصية البروفسوراليهودي آري، الذي كان صديق الطفولة للجد حسن.حيث كان حسن قد أنقذ حياته في حرب 1948، ليصطحب أري سارة إلى عين حوض ويدلها على بيت عائلتها هناك , يطرق الباب على العائلة اليهودية التي أتت من بقاع الأرض، مستعمرة لتسكنه، ويتم طردهم من هناك.

يبدو أن هذه الرواية، التي ستترجم إلى 19 لغة، وهي رواية تتصدر الأدب المهجري المقاوم، وحسب تقييم نقاد وأدباء سويديين، ستكون من روايات الأدب العالمي، رغم أنها التجربة الأولى لسوزان أبو الهوى، الباحثة في علم الادوية والكيمياء الحيوية .

يقول فيها الروائي السويدي الكبير هينينج مانكل: لم أقرأ في حياتي رواية جذبتني عن فلسطين كهذه. لقد زودتني بالإدراك وهيجت أحاسيسي وعواطفي، كما يمكن للروايات العظمى أن تفعل.

وكقارئ فلسطيني للرواية فقد رأيت نفسي في عدد من المشاهد التي صورتها لنا أبو الهوى.

وأكثر ماتطابق في الرواية مع سلسلة حياتي هو

أولا: صورة الغلاف التي تظهر سيدة بثوب فلسطيني تحمل على كتفها طفل بعمر سنتين تدير وجهها مغادرة موقع تنتمي إليه. صورة تتطابق مع حمل والدتي لي على كتفيها وكان عمري سنتين، وكانت تحمل في رحمها إبنها الثالث، وجائها المخاض أثناء مسيرها على الطريق من صفد إلى لبنان ليتم نقلها إلى مشفى في حلب لتضع طفلها الثالث.

وثانيا مسيرتي في العمل الفلسطيني في المخيمات وفي الشتات.

وثالثا زيارتي التي قمت بها إلى صفد، عام 1989، حيث وقفت أمام بيتنا ومنعت من الدخول إليه من قبل العائلة اليهودية التي جاءت من أصقاع الأرض واستولت عليه.

ورابعا إصرار الفلسطينيين جيلا بعد جيل على حمل القضية في قلوبهم وعقولهم ونقلها إلى الرأي العام الدولي لمتابعة النضال، وكاتبة الرواية السيدة سوزان المولودة في الكويت عام 1970 خير برهان على الأجيال التي ولدت بعد النكبة بعقود,

لكنها تفهم القضية كما هي بتفاصيلها الإنسانية الدقيقة.



قراءة وتعليق رشيد الحجة

صحافي فلسطيني مقيم في أوبسالا - السويد

We Are All Egypt!

In the Huffington Post, February 4, 2011

Rightly proud of their history, Egyptians like to announce, especially to other Arabs, that Egypt is the world's mother. The Arabic version is far more tender and poetic "Misr Um el Dounia"! Lighthearted banter will often ensue between Egyptian and non-Egyptian friends when that statement is brought into the conversation.

Today, I think every Arab will concede that, indeed, Misr Um el Dounia!

The culture that is a pillar of history itself is, once again, unfurling a new era and, as one revolutionary protestor said, "the world before January 25th is not the same after January 25th." With such spectacular passion, courage, endurance, and undaunted will, the people of Egypt are ushering in a new world order in the Middle East. Everyone, apparently except Hosni Mubarak, knows that Hosni Mubarak is finished. But his ousting is not merely the end of one Arab tyrant. The awe-inspiring unity of voice and purpose of Egyptians is the realization of an old Arab dream, one for which songs, poems and anthems have been written and sung in every Arab home for generations. It is the dream of liberty, an end to colonialism and its aftertaste that lingers throughout these ancient lands. It is the dream of self-rule and unity among peoples of the Middle East who share a common destiny.

The people have always been fundamentally united. This is evident by the demonstrations in other parts of the Middle East in solidarity with Egyptians. It is evident by past demonstrations throughout Arab streets in opposition to attacks upon Palestinians and Lebanese Arabs. The revolutionaries packed into Tahrir Square are many of the same who have in the past carried placards reading "We are all Palestine." As a Palestinian, I now march the streets with a placard that reads "We are all Egypt."

Incredibly, now we are seeing footage of confessions from the so called "pro-Mubarak" crowd who admit to having been paid to create chaos and violence in what had been an orderly and peaceful assembly of millions of human beings. We already knew that many of those who came on camels and horses wielding whips, knives and swords, were part of Mubarak's central police. It is clear now that others were prisoners who were released with small amounts of money on the condition that they join the forces of disruption.

El Abtal, the revolutionaries, did not budge and their nonviolent demonstrations have resumed with the same awesome unity and order. Even some of those individuals who were paid to rally for Mubarak have changed sides to join their countrymen in Tahrir square. Millions without work or school, of all faiths, of all economic backgrounds, are standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing food, water, praying together, listening to Egyptian songs between calls of the Adan, chanting, and restoring their dignity as a free people.

There's another saying in Arabic that doesn't quite translate into English. But I'll give it a try: The people of Egypt have raised the collective Arab head. "Awlad Misr byirfa3o ras el Arab kolohom!" In other words, Egyptians inspire us all and fill our hearts with pride and love and hope.

Susan Abulhawa is the author of Mornings in Jenin and founder of Playgrounds for Palestine.

Mubarak: Destroying Egypt to Stay in Power

In the Huffington Post, February 2, 2011

In the face of a spectacular and inspiring people's revolution, Hosni Mubarak's first tactic to hold onto his despotic post was to send his police thugs into the streets as looters and rioters to provide him with an excuse to do what he does best: clamp down and terrorize Egypt's citizens. But thanks to the incredible solidarity of the people, this subversion was unsuccessful. Neighborhood watch groups repelled and 'arrested' those looters and turned them over to the army.

When demands for Mubarak's departure grew louder from from an even bigger crowd, he dug his nails in deeper, staking his claim to the few remaining months in his tenure of torture and intimidation of the Egyptian people.

As his intransigence stretched out, so did the protests and the risk of chaos grew. It was easy to predict, as I did in a Twitter post, that Mubarak was waiting for mayhem to ensue naturally, due to the inevitable food and fuel shortages, so he could step in to "restore order".

But the people's resolve for freedom, civil liberties, and government transparency could not be conquered by exhaustion or hunger.

Now we see that Mubarak's latest tactic is to send in armed gangs, mostly from his notorious police force, to ignite riots.

Mubarak is intentionally trying to provoke a bloodbath in Egypt, his own country!

Why?

In a pathetic speech to his people, he claimed to hold onto power for the sake of maintaining security and order. In fact, the protests, involving millions of people were entirely peaceful and miraculously orderly. It was Mubarak who actively changed that and any bloodshed from this moment forward will rest entirely on his shoulders. He should be tried and punished for the violent consequences of his maniacal ego that will not accept the clear, definitive, passionate, and unified voice of the people to rid Egypt of his tyranny.

There is little doubt that some in the US and Israel are quietly pushing for Mubarak to maintain power. We have heard and read statements that confirm this in one way or another. Nearly every American network has counted Mubarak's contributions to Israel's interests as his crowning achievement, as if Israel should be the priority of every Egyptian.

What arrogance! What hypocrisy for the West not to stand, unequivocally, behind a people's undaunted cry for freedom!

In truth, few in the West want Arabs to have such freedom or democracy. People who hold the reins of their own destiny are more difficult to deal with because they tend to demand fair play, justice, and respect for themselves. They also might not sit silently, for example, the next time Israel decides to rain the death of bombs, missiles, and white phosphorous onto the already battered, hungry, and besieged people of Gaza.

May God give the Egyptian people the strength to hold their ground and may their revolution for democracy and freedom spread like a brushfire through the Arab world.

Make no mistake, it is only a matter of time, and especially if Mubarak employs more terror against his own people in order to stay in power.

A Defining Moment for President Obama's Leadership

In the Huffington Post, January 23, 2011

A UN resolution is being circulated among the fifteen members of the Security Council and it is likely that all but the United States will accept it. The language of the resolution affirms what previous UN resolutions and international law have already established: That Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, namely all territory beyond the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, are illegal.

Although President Obama has made it clear that he opposes these settlements and considers them an impediment to peace, it is expected that the Obama administration will, nonetheless, follow previous administrations in being the only dissenting voice on the Security Council when it comes to resolutions that hold Israel accountable to internationally accepted standards. And by "dissent," I mean veto.

On one hand, a veto by the US can be regarded as nothing new. The US consistently provides this kind of political cover for Israel's crimes. Sometimes an international uproar follows but it dies out without discernible repercussion. But there are reasons to think that a veto of this resolution might not pass so easily. Consequences might be apparent on both the national and international front for the US.

For starters, Obama has been publicly humiliated by Prime Minister Netanyahu's rebuff of an unprecedented American bribe in return for a pittance and temporary adherence to international law to stop settlement construction on confiscated Palestinian land -- partially and for only 90 days. This public rebuke of the President of the United States came not long after other slights, including the announcement of new illegal settlement construction on the eve of Vice President Joe Biden's arrival in Tel Aviv last year.

Israel's public belittling and disregard for its only ally and chief benefactor amounts to biting the hand that feeds it. For Obama to now step in and give sanction for something he openly and repeatedly opposed will further expose his weakness and inability to stand up to a tiny country that arguably owes its survival to the US. A veto will also further increase the isolation of the US from the consensus of the rest of the world, which is increasingly less tolerant of Israel's unrelenting crimes and its lack of accountability.

While the US could withstand such isolation in previous times, there are several reasons why this may not hold true now. For starters, the US is embroiled in two losing wars in the Middle East that make the ire of the "Arab street" (which is sure to be spurred by yet another veto) more relevant. The repressive Arab dictators, who routinely suppress displays of mass political dissent and unrest, might be more apt to hear popular anger at a US veto and press matters more vigorously with the UN given the sweeping popular revolution we are witnessing now in Tunis. Furthermore, Israel's harm to US interests was underscored last year by unprecedented political commentary from the highest echelons of the US military, when Commander General David Petraeus made it clear to the White House that Israel's intransigence was jeopardizing American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The proposed UN resolution merely affirms previous UN resolutions (some of which were even authored by the US), basic tenets of international law, and the already articulated position of the Obama administration regarding Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. It is a minimal recognition of the right of the indigenous population of Historic Palestine to exist as a free people in their own homeland. For Obama to veto this resolution now would surely corroborate the perception of him as a cowering and ineffectual president who cannot withstand the political pressure that Israel exerts domestically in the US. The risk of igniting more popular movements in the Arab world that could overthrow US clients in the region is more real now than ever, given the inspiration from Tunisians. Finally, Obama would risk further harm to American troops in two already damaging and draining wars. Republicans would surely exploit all of the above, which, given the current economy, could easily translate into a one-term presidency.

But what if he allows the resolution to pass?

It is well known that standing up to Israel carries great political risk, including a one-term presidency, as in the case of Jimmy Carter and George Bush Senior, both of whom merely threatened or tried to withhold American tax dollars and loan guarantees for Israel to curtail its flouting of international law. However, rewind a few presidencies to Dwight Eisenhower, the first American president who stood on principle against Israel despite enormous domestic pressure, withheld US tax dollars and even threatened UN sanctions if Israel continued to occupy the Gaza Strip and the Gulf of Aqaba it had invaded and captured in 1956.

On top of that, this all occurred during the home stretch for reelection, a risky time to incur Israel's ire, and Eisenhower's advisors were begging him to back down lest he lose the election. But President Eisenhower had had enough of Israel's trickery and flouting of the law and his resolve was echoed by his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, who said: "I am aware how almost impossible it is in this country to carry out a foreign policy not approved by [the Israelis]...but I am going to have one. That does not mean I am anti-Jewish, but I believe in what George Washington said in his Farewell Address that an emotional attachment to another country should not interfere."

The rest is history. Ben-Gurion, Israel's Prime Minister, was forced to turn and leave Gaza. Eisenhower, of course, was reelected. There are many differences that can be cited between the circumstances of Eisenhower's stand and that of Carter's and later Bush, Sr. Eisenhower took his case directly to the American people. On a radio address to the nation, he said:

We are now faced with a fateful moment as a result of the failure of Israel to withdraw its forces behind the Armistice lines, as contemplated by the United Nations Resolutions on this subject.


I would, I feel, be untrue to the standards of the high office to which you have chosen me, if I were to lend the influence of the United States to the proposition that a nation which invades another should be permitted to exact conditions for withdrawal... We cannot -- in the world, any more than in our own nation -- subscribe to one law for the weak, another for the strong .... There can only be one law -- or there will be no peace.

Such is the language of leaders. Rather than back down from a politically inconvenient principled stand, Eisenhower appealed to, and trusted, his people's basic sense of justice and fair play, by revealing the moral clarity of his position. No president since has displayed that kind of leadership vis-à-vis Israel, and our nation continues to pay a heavy price a result. It is for this reason that the US position on this UN resolution may well be a defining moment for President Obama's leadership.

Susan Abulhawa is the author of Mornings in Jenin and founder of Playgrounds for Palestine

Susan on Al Jazeera's Listening Post about "Breaking the Silence" group in Israel

Susan on Al Jazeera's "Listening Post". On this link, the story beings at minute 15:00; susan's part begins after minute 23:00
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/listeningpost/2011/02/201125105032750179.html