Tunis — A ceremony in honour of Palestinian writer Adania Shibli, author of "Minor Detail", was held on Monday at the Semmama Arts and Crafts Centre in Kasserine.
Shibli is currently in Tunisia to participate in the 38th edition of the Tunis International Book Fair, held April 19-28 in Tunis.
The Palestinian writer received in Kasserine an iron shield designed by artist Yamen Abdelli, a rosemary wreath, an Alfa fibre medal dyed in the colours of the Palestinian flag and items created by craftswomen from Mount Semmama.
Artists, craftsmen, shepherds and teachers at the Semmama Arts and Crafts Centre attended this event following "the postponment of the 2023 LiBeraturpreis award ceremony honoring Berlin-based Palestinian author Adania Shibli," Activist and Head of the Semmama Arts and Crafts Centre Adnene Helali said.
In a statement to TAP, Helali added that the Semmama Cultural Centre is carrying on a tradition that dates back to its inauguration in 2018, by organising events in support of the Palestinian cause.
At a meeting organised on April 28 as part of the Tunis International Book Fair, the writer said that "Palestinian literature is banned in the occupied territories and publications are subject to censorship in an attempt to erase the Arabic language".
"Despite the occupation forces' strict restrictions on Palestinian books, Palestinians still manage to find ways of obtaining books", she added.
"In addition to literature, reading is also an act of resistance", she pointed out, indicating that "language is not just a means of communication, but a means of proving one's existence". In this respect, she referred to the Nakba period, during which "the Israeli occupation demolished 485 villages but never managed to erase the names of these villages, which have since disappeared from the map".
Writers are working to get together, share their respective positions and express themselves in the "magazine 28".
"At the moment, the Palestinian writer is much more preoccupied with the suffering of the people in the besieged Gaza Strip than with the act of writing", she said.
