Skip to main content

Jailed Palestinian writer pens story for children of prisoners

Behind bars since the age of 25, 57-year-old Palestinian writer Walid Daqqa sends out a message of hope in a book for children of parents caught in prison or the wider occupied territories.
waliddaqqabook.jpg
Read in 

RAMALLAH, West Bank — “The Tale of the Secret of Oil,” a new book for young readers, was launched this September at the Mahmoud Darwish museum in Ramallah, but unlike most book launches, the author, Walid Daqqa, was conspicuously absent. He wrote the book in prison, where he has been since 1986.

"The Tale of the Secret of Oil” is Daqqa's first novel for children and adolescents, though he has written others in the genre known as prison literature. Published by the Tamer Institute for Community Education, it narrates the story of 12-year-old Jude, who was conceived with his father’s sperm smuggled out of prison.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.