Footnotes in Gaza
Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco, published by Jonathan Cape in 2019, is a comprehensive exploration of the town of Rafah, located at the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip. This 432-page work delves into the complex history of the region, particularly focusing on a tragic incident from 1956 when 111 Palestinian refugees were killed by Israeli soldiers. Through his unique visual journalism, Sacco immerses himself in the daily life of Rafah, presenting a narrative that intertwines the past and present of this conflict-ridden area.
Readers will find that Footnotes in Gaza spans fifty years, capturing the voices of various individuals, including schoolchildren, widows, and local leaders. The book addresses the competing narratives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, revealing the harsh realities of life in Rafah amidst ongoing violence and political strife. Sacco’s meticulous illustrations and storytelling provide an intimate look at the human experiences behind historical events, making this edition a significant contribution to the discourse on Middle Eastern history and political science.
Official synopsis Publisher
Rafah, a town at the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip, is a squalid place. Raw concrete buildings front rubbish-strewn alleys. The narrow streets are crowded with young children and unemployed men. Situated on the border with Egypt, swaths of Rafah have been reduced to rubble. Rafah is today and has always been a notorious flashpoint in this most bitter of conflicts.
Buried deep in the archives is one bloody incident, in 1956, that left 111 Palestinian refugees dead, shot by Israeli soldiers. Seemingly a footnote to a long history of killing, that day in Rafah – coldblooded massacre or dreadful mistake – reveals the competing truths that have come to define an intractable war. In a quest to get to the heart of what happened, Joe Sacco arrives in Gaza and, immersing himself in daily life, uncovers Rafah, past and present. Spanning fifty years, moving fluidly between one war and the next, alive with the voices of fugitives and schoolchildren, widows and sheikhs, Footnotes in Gaza captures the essence of a tragedy.
As in Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde, Joe Sacco’s unique visual journalism has rendered a contested landscape in brilliant, meticulous detail. Footnotes in Gaza, his most ambitious work to date, transforms a critical conflict of our age into intimate and immediate experience.
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