Comma Press raises concerns over authors and translators in Gaza

Comma Press has raised concerns over the safety of authors and translators currently trapped in the Gaza Strip amid Israeli airstrikes.

Israel is responding after Hamas—which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the British government—entered communities in Israel at the weekend, killing at least 1,200 people and taking dozens of hostages. The bombing of Gaza has killed more than 2,000 people, with supplies of electricity, fuel and water cut off. Trade bodies such as The Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) have condemned the Hamas attacks, and called for an end to hostilities in the region.

In a statement, Comma said it was "extremely concerned about the safety of several of its writers and translators trapped in Gaza today, some living there, some visiting family". Among these is translator Mohamed Ghalayini, who has worked with Comma on various titles. The publisher said Ghalayini, who is a British citizen, was visiting family in the country when the current conflict began on Saturday (7th October) and has been trapped in Gaza City, with "no word from the British consulate".

Other writers trapped in the city include the novelist Talal Abu Shawish who lives in Deir al-Balah Camp in central Gaza Strip, and whose cousin, author Omar Abu Shawish, was killed in his home during a bombing raid on Saturday. Translator Sondos Sabra is also trapped in Gaza City, and non-fiction writer and activist Musheir el-Farra, who was visiting from Sheffield when the onslaught began, is trapped with his son in the central area of the Strip.

The publisher added: "Comma has yet to hear from many other writers and translators from the Strip that it has worked with over the years. These include Nayrouz Qarmout, the best-selling author at 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival (author of The Sea Cloak), whose family (themselves relocated refugees from Yarmouk refugee camp) live in the Karama district, which saw some of the most devastating bombing earlier in the week."

Comma c.e.o. Ra Page said: "We’re heartbroken and devastated for those trapped there. Obviously it’s a horrific situation, with tragedies on both sides. Our hearts go out to the bereaved on both sides, and we obviously condemn all acts of violence." He said: "They’ve been told by the IDF to leave but there is obviously nowhere to go to. The Raffah border with Egypt was bombed heavily in the first few days of the conflict, so even the lucky few with money and the right documentation to leave can’t now go anywhere. There are no air-raid shelters and the sea is patrolled by gunships. Where are they supposed to go?"

Ghalayini, speaking while en route south to Khan Younis, told The Bookseller:  "The plan seems to be drive everyone from the north of the Strip to the south, and displace about half of the population first - over 1.1 million people. What they want to do with us next is unclear. Put us all in camps? Or drive us into the Sinai desert? It’s utterly terrifying. As a translator, I’m all too well aware of how the language barrier adds to the misunderstanding and lack of sympathy for the Palestinian perspective.

"It’s easy to switch off when you see someone grieving in a language you don’t understand a word of on a television screen. Especially when the grief is so raw, and the brutality so unjustified. The worse the situation, the harder it is as a viewer to connect with. So language has always been one of the Palestinians’ biggest hurdles."

The poet Sondos Luiz, who is currently staying in Cairo, lives in Beit Lahia in the north of the Strip and has been unable to contact her family to check on their welfare. "I don’t know anything about my family," she said. "The last I heard they were planning to leave. But I haven’t heard anything in hours. All I know is what I see on the news."

The author Atef Abu Saif, editor of The Book of Gaza (Comma Press) and author of the 2014 war diary The Drone Eats with Me (Comma Press), and known as an outspoken critic of Hamas, has also found himself trapped while visiting the Gaza Press Centre. In a message sent to Page via WhatsApp, he said: "The Press Centre was hit, as was my hotel, and I spent about two hours running through the streets, desperately ducking from doorway to doorway trying to find a house to shelter in."

A number of Israeli publishers and agents told The Bookseller earlier this week of their own trauma from the weekend’s events. Agent Deborah Harris, based in Jerusalem, said: "We are burying our dead, mourning our losses, families going out of their minds as they wait to hear the fate of their loved ones. Almost everyone at our agency has a son, brother, family member who has been called up and is now on the northern or southern front. Unfathomable."