For the past 21 years, Palestinian author Basim Khandaqji has been a symbol of resistance, writing award-winning novels from an Israeli jail cell.
Convicted of terrorism for allegedly helping plan a bombing that resulted in the killing of three people in Tel Aviv, and sentenced to serve three life sentences, Basim has been imprisoned since 2004. Those years have been prolific, however: he has written several novels and poetry collections and won the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his 2023 novel A Mask, the Colour of the Sky, which triumphed over 133 other submitted titles.
"This is a pride for Basim and for our family that he won the most prestigious international prize [in Arabic fiction]. This victory was a tribute to the souls of the martyrs, our Palestinian people in Gaza," Yousef Khandaqji, Basim's brother and literary agent, tells The National.
The book won the $50,000 prize at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi in April last year, and also qualified for funding for an English-language translation. Currently, two of the three volumes of the trilogy have been published by Lebanon's Dar Al Adab, with the third in progress.
"This victory is also a huge moral boost for Basim, as a prisoner in the occupation's prisons, it pushes him to produce high-quality literary texts. We were taking his literary works out of prison, which was very complicated," he adds.
Basim has endured many difficulties as a prisoner over the years. But the attention his most recent book received resulted in particularly harsh treatment, according to Yousef.
"When the novel was shortlisted, the occupation forces did not appreciate that. They decided to punish Basim by placing him in solitary confinement and making him pay a fine of around $2000. He also endured a fierce incitement campaign from Israeli press. He was in solitary for a month and investigated and also fined when he won the prize. But Basim is used to these things as a prisoner for the last 21 years," Mr Khandaqji says.
Despite the challenges he faces, Basim's dream is to continue writing and representing the Palestinian experience in his novels. "Basim was able to handle these things and with his patience and resilience, he was able to face these grievances. What’s important is that his words leave the prison cells ... and indeed they did," Yousef adds.
During the Israel-Gaza War, visits for prisoners from immediate family were halted - even Basim's lawyer was only able to see him after a seven-month wait. As for Yousef, the last time he had seen his brother up close was in 2019.
"The last time I saw him, I felt it would be the last. I had a horrible feeling and unfortunately, that is what happened. It was the last visit. But it was one of the most beautiful visits too. We talked about his literary plans," he says.
As Basim's agent, Yousef has been looking after the publishing and promotion of his brother's books, which has been a challenge. "God helped me take care of his children well and provide them with great attention, and hopefully, when he comes home, he will continue, because it is hard to talk about these novels when the author is absent," Yousef says.
While he has gained international attention for the work he has produced while imprisoned, Yousef believes his brother would still be driven to produce powerful literary works if he were free, given that he wrote long before he was imprisoned. But Yousef does believe that detention has inspired Basim to produce literary works of this calibre.
"If you asked me if Basim would produce this kind of work if he wasn’t detained, I would say yes, because Basim comes from a progressive family that owns a library in Nablus, and he was a young reader of big novels," he says. He fondly recalls how a Palestinian poet met Basim when he was 12 years old, and was surprised by his knowledge of books. At the time, the poet predicted that Basim would have a great future in writing.
"Truly that’s what Basim reached because of the support from God, our family, and readers," he says. "I thank the people that come and watch the seminars on Basim’s work and support him, I always say that Basim shall be present between us soon. He will be released free, happy and victorious, God willing."
Yousef Khandaqji was a guest at this year's Emirates Festival of Literature, which concluded on Sunday, where he was warmly welcomed by the UAE's literary community. "I found great engagement and it is a great honour for us as a family, watching how people react to the novel," Mr Khandaqji says.
