International
“Israel’s goal is to destroy memory,” says former Palestinian Minister of Culture
The writer and former Palestinian Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif said that Israel’s goal is to destroy memory, eliminate Palestinian history and any evidence that unites the Palestinian people with their land.
“They are destroying museums, theaters, cultural centers… They try to eliminate our history,” said in an interview with EFE the author of ‘I want to be awake when I die: diary of the genocide in Gaza’ (2024), who traveled to Brazil to participate in a literary fair.
Cultural losses for Palestine due to Israeli attacks
The latest report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that, of the 120 sites it monitors through satellite images in Palestine, 69 were damaged since October 7, 2023, the day of the radical group Hamas attack on Israel that started the war.
Among them are religious sites, buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, deposits of cultural property, monuments and archaeological sites.
One of the key losses for the Palestinian people, says Saif, was the destruction of the Central Archive of Gaza City, which contained historical documents more than 150 years old, in December 2023.
The politician, who dedicated himself to writing stories from a very young age, pointed out that in Palestine “culture is not luxury and entertainment,” but “a tool of struggle and resistance,” and stressed that currently the residents of the Strip have their lives on pause.
“You live little by little, second by second. You’re fine now, but that doesn’t mean it will be like that in the next minute. It’s a constant fight against death,” he laments.
For Saif, this historical event will be remembered as “the first genocide of the 21st century” and the moment in which “the international community was silent.”
‘I want to be awake when I die’, his latest book
The author, a native of the Yabalia refugee camp, believes that it is a responsibility to talk about the suffering that the people of Palestine are going through.
“Of course I would like to talk about love, life, hopes and dreams. But I can’t avoid, for example, when I describe my characters, the fact that none of them can leave Gaza through the border posts. I would love not to talk about it, but what normal life can you have if no one is qualified to leave a place?” Saif wonders.
From that notion is born his latest book, ‘I want to be awake when I die: diary of the genocide in Gaza’, a story of his days in the Gaza Strip after October 7.
The book was translated into ten languages and its Portuguese version was recently presented at the Paraty International Literary Festival (Flip), the largest event of letters in Brazil.
Saif was in Gaza with his son for work when the Israeli offensive began and was trapped for three months with his relatives and more than 2 million inhabitants, so he saw no other way out than writing to tell stories.
“War is a machine that reduces us to just numbers. We are not numbers, we are stories, we are lives, we are part of a family. We are past, present and future,” said the author, who is displaced from his home.
“When people ask me where I live, I don’t know what to answer. Sometimes I say that I live in the world while I wait for the war to end so I can return to Gaza.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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