Gazans Use Satire to Bypass Political Censorship
To circumvent censorship, political critics have turned to satirical literature to express displeasure with local governance.
Cynical television presenters such as Egyptian Bassem Youssef may soon no longer appear on Palestinian television outlets as a result of the increased censorship imposed on local media. Yet, this same censorship has stood helpless with the spread of sarcastic literature and media published on social networking sites. The comical episodes of a drama titled “Watan ala Watar” (Country on a String), which is aired on a YouTube channel of the same name, have drawn in excess of 6 million viewers as a result of the program being banned from the official Palestinian television station because of the harsh criticism it leveled against political leaders a few years ago.
In Gaza, the situation is different, as the growing trend has focused on the publication of satirical articles through social networking sites and local online news agencies. This trend reflects society’s discontent with all religious, cultural and political movements and makes these types of writings an absolute necessity.
Akram al-Surani is one of those authors whose first book, titled Watan Kharej el-Taghtiya (Homeland Out of Coverage), saw great success in the Gaza Strip following its publication in Ramallah, the West Bank. In one of his circulated articles, Surani said, “The people need a bladder the size of Gaza and Ramallah combined, big enough for them to urinate on the prevailing situation, frustration, national dialogue, turbid water, grim faces, false authorities, newscasts and high prices.”
Observers of satirical literature in the Gaza Strip have noticed that it focuses on political criticism more than it does on being funny, which might make it a catalyst for change in a city where the Arab Spring has failed to alter circumstances.
