Inspired by the South African lawyers that took the case of the Palestinian people and Gaza to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nathi Ngubane decided to work on a colouring book called From The River to the Sea. He wanted to capture this historical yet shocking moment through his work.
Salaam Foundation caught up with him during a Palestine Day event held in Johannesburg on September 12.
The book is more than just a colouring book. It is also a history lesson and an interactive activity book which allows children and adults alike to have fun colouring in the illustrations and learning a lot at the same time.
“The idea of this book was just to create that gateway into Palestine for the young ones,” Ngubane said. However, in the process of putting it together, he realised that there were many adults who were not adequately informed about what is happening in Palestine.
The book published by Social Media Bandit consists of beautifully illustrated pictures which users are encouraged to fill in – with a handy colour by numbers guide. Information is given about key historical events in Palestine’s history, different symbols of importance to Palestine and principal figures such as Lama Abu Jamous, Refaat al Areer and Ahed Tamimi.
The cover consists of a South African boy alongside Handala. Handala is a symbol of the Palestinian people created by cartoonist Naji al-Ali in 1969. He is always drawn with his back to the world as a symbol of defiance and resistance. The cover also features the Dome of the Rock opposite the Johannesburg skyline to show the deep sense of solidarity and connection between Palestine and South Africa.
The book was an educational experience for Ngubane. While he was aware of the struggles of the Palestinian people and their history, he learnt a lot during the research for the book. Extensive research and consultation was done, with a number of people including Palestinian journalists on the ground in Gaza, parents and teachers as well as anti-Zionist Jewish scholars like Illan Pappe, before the book was published.
The book was warmly received by many within the Pro-Palestinian movement in South Africa and around the world and Ngubane has been invited to speak to children at schools and address literary festivals around the country.
However, the book has not been warmly received by all, something that Nathi expected especially with the title.
The Cape Town branch of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies put out a Facebook post saying the book promoted “the obliteration of Jews from our historical and rightful homeland — Israel”. The author was inundated with hate messages as a result. One of the messages even said he was not qualified to talk about the Middle East. Social Bandit Media received an email saying that Exclusive Books was removing the book from the shelves. In turn, Exclusive Books received a massive backlash from Pro-Palestinian supporters. Exclusive Books then put out two statements. The first statement said they do not censor or approve books while the second said they reviewed the book, found it was not offensive and put it back on the shelves.
Ngubane said he felt his freedom of expression was being violated with what had happened. “It made me question our democracy as a country.”
The book is now available on the Exclusive Books website and some stores.
“It teaches kids activism and that is the aim with the books that I am writing now,” said Ngubane.
