Middle East miscellany

Joe Sacco

Palestine

From Dec '87 to Oct '91, settlers killed 42 Palestinians, and in that time only three trials have concluded. The stiffest sentence? Three years. On the other hand, Palestinians have killed 17 settlers during the same time period. Six of nine suspects captured in these incidents received life imprisonment; one received 20 years; six family homes were demolished. (The remaining two suspects were still in court.) 71

We must show we are stronger than the pain. -- an unnamed refugee of Jabalia, 228

Yes, yes, we all want peace, whatever that is, but peace can mean different things too, and isn't described identically by all those who wish to imagine it. 281

Marjane Satrapi

Perspolis

At recess, I tried to console her...

-"Your father acted like a genuine hero, you should be proud of him!"

-"I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero."

Those were her exact words to me. 86