• Ruwanthie de Chickera’s book available for free at Barefoot Bookshop, archive.org

In light of the renewed conflict that is ongoing in Palestine’s Gaza and reflecting upon the first Nakba that took place on 14 May 1948, a commemorative event held at the Public Library premises in Colombo saw the attendance of dignitaries and Sri Lankans that stand in solidarity with Palestine. Aptly named ‘All Out for Palestine’, the event featured speeches, poetry recitals, choir recitals, dramatisations, and a few art and craft activities for children. These activities provided insights into the Nakba and initiated a discourse about the events that led to the present war that is brewing in West Asia.

The take-home from the event came in the form of a storybook authored by Ruwanthie de Chickera and illustrated by Ryan Holsinger. Titled ‘The Children of the Little Olive Park’, the book tells a story of how two groups of children reacted to a conflict that took place in Olive Park and how adults with their influence escalated it to create division.

De Chickera is a theatre practitioner, human rights defender, and playwright who is venturing into storytelling. During a recent chat, she said that she was hesitant to call herself an author yet, as it takes a lot more dedication and discipline to continue the journey and publish books.

De Chickera’s approach to explaining the complexity of an over seven-decade systematic pogrom and marginalisation endured by the people of Palestine is simple; it talks about a daily occurrence of a simple interaction between two groups that have to access a public space and share resources. While on the surface level, this seems like a social engagement that will not cause any conflict or create division, de Chickera unties the intricate details of how a simple behaviour of selfishness – wanting to impose authority and ownership based on access to resources – could lead to disputes.

The illustrations done by Holsinger add a greater visual impact for those who pick the book to read to children. Children who are familiar with the colours associated with the countries could visually read the story along with it.

The cost of conflict

Twelve-year-old Sarah Suraj, who is an avid reader, upon reading the book said that overall the book captures the cost of conflict.

“‘The Children of the Little Olive Park’ is a story that is inspired by the fight between Palestine and Israel; it talks about a crucial aspect of the conflict and creates awareness of the ongoing war. It shows us the ignorance surrounding the conflict, and how most of the world overlooks it for its convenience; even though many innocent lives are taken away. The story also tells us of the suffering endured by Palestinians, despite their generosity to Israel. This story talks about the war through simple and interesting storytelling.

“‘The Children of the Little Olive Park’ is more than just a story; it is a reminder of the cost of conflict. It amplifies the voices silenced by the world. I enjoyed reading this book, and I think it has a meaningful and deep message all while being short and simple.”

‘Why did the big place people do such things?’

Ten-year-old Imaad Hannan, who read the book with his mom Tinaz Amit, was quite confused as to why the big place people ill-treated the children living near the Little Olive Park. Amit explained that her son understood that the story was about the conflict that is taking place in Palestine, yet needed more information about the history of the conflict to understand why they needed to divide the park between the two groups.

“Imaad did not understand why things were happening as in the story at first. He did not know the history of the conflict between the two countries. He knew it was about Palestine, but could not understand why the big place people did such things. Once I explained the history, he understood it clearly.”

Photo Krishan Kariyawasam