The Sunbird by Sara Haddad

Jan 12, 2025
Palestinian Territory - Palestinians hold keys symbolising keys to houses left by Palestinians in 1948. Palestinians take part in a mass demonstration in front of UN headquarters of UNESCO marking Nakba when Palestinians were forced to leave their homes, after I. May 14, 2012 - Gaza City, Gaza Strip,

While it is perfectly legitimate and understandable to engage with books for relaxation, some works of literature leave us better informed but unsettled.

There is a tension in all works of art between a philosophy which says that it is enough to describe the world and another ethic which suggests that the purpose of art is to challenge and change current realities. Sara Haddad’s The Sunbird was an excellent gift to receive at Christmas 2024 because it both informs the reader and simultaneously has an emotional impact.

Nabila Yasmeen is an elderly Palestinian woman living in inner Sydney, but her story begins in 1947. We find her so anxious for education that before she is of an age to attend school, not yet six years old, she crouches on the window “like a sunbird ready to fly” to listen and to watch. Nabila has always regarded education as an important privilege. One fact mentioned by Haddad is that the Palestinian literacy rate has always been high. This fact places into damning context the destruction of schools in Gaza, and indeed the destruction of Palestinian childhood in general.

Nabila attends the December 2023 demonstrations in Sydney against the genocide in Gaza, then returns to her humble home, to care for her plants and to eat a simple diet. Nabila reflects on the love she felt among the people who shared her horror of the destruction of Palestine. She is however, mindful of the contrary attitude of the Australian authorities. None of this can extinguish the fire behind her eyes.

Nabila recalls the terrible events she witnessed and how the Nakba genocide almost claimed her life as she lost the sight of an eye in a bombing. Sometimes the experience of one person can be more moving that statistics which seem merely theoretical. Through Nabila’s story the data about the deaths of children are realised: how they are being murdered, orphaned, homeless, starved, terrified and having limbs amputated without anaesthetic in numbers which must shame anyone with a trace of humanity in their consciences.

As well as writing a poignant plot around Nabila, Sara Haddad documents the century of colonialism and imperialism that gave rise to the state of Israel while providing no protection for the invaded colonised and displaced Palestinians.

Haddad quotes standard works such as Chomsky and Pappe’s On Palestine and updates the dramatically changing history with reference to numerous websites. This is especially important given the rapidly escalating data on deaths and destruction. The book has a succinct Bibliography and Discussion Notes.

Haddad produces some startling insights, not an easy task considering so much has been written about the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. She puts the international support for Israel into appalling perspective thus: the USA alone has made 500 deliveries of weapons since October 2023. Nabila notes that to read out the names of the dead would take more than eight hours.

Considering that there are so many works on Palestine which appeal to both the head and the heart, every Australian must know what is happening there. The experiences recalled by Nabila challenge every Australian to make an emotional response. Nabila believes that there is room enough for all living things, even animals sometimes regarded as pests in Sydney, but as she watches the tv news, she finds that much has been omitted from the reports. Perhaps this explains why so many Australians continue their shopping even though bombs are dropping in Palestine. Nabila shows compassion for a homeless man and while imagining a silent Bethlehem, feels close to God because of the love that emanates from her fellow protestors.

Haddad says that her book is a labour of love. It is brief so that it contradicts the narrative that Palestine is a complicated issue. Its prose style is simple and clear so that it is widely accessible. The Glossary of Arabic Terms helps us to empathise with Nabila. Still, Nabila is very much a resident of Sydney, enjoying the climate, the people, the skinks, ibis and cicadas.

The book’s simple style is also appropriate because as Haddad says “the language of liberation is simple: honest, transparent, direct”. Just as the keffiyeh has become a mark of solidarity, so the sunbird has become a symbol of resistance and Sara Haddad’s The Sunbird should raise its profile considerably.

Sara Haddad The Sunbird

Published by University of Queensland Press 2024 Paperback 112 pp. (artwork by Tam Morris)

 

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