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| Naji al-Ali .. Caricature By Walter Toscano - Peru |
Naji al-Ali was born in the village of al-Shajara, in the district of Tiberias. His father was Salim Hussein. His wife, Wadad Salih Nasr, was from the Palestinian town of Saffuriyya. He had four children: Khalid, Usama, Layal, and Judi.
Handala is the most famous character drawn by Al-Ali. He is a 10-years old refugee boy who was present in all Al-Ali’s cartoons. He was a symbol of Palestinian resistance and struggle for their right. Handala appeared for the first time in 1979 in Al-Siyasa Kuwaiti newspaper. Handala was 10 years old boy, the same age Al-Ali was when he was expelled from his village and became refugee.
The inspiring cartoonist spent five weeks in a severe coma on a life support machine, to die on August 30, 1987 at the age of 49.