The watermelon is a symbol of Palestinian resistance and solidarity. [Picture via muslimobserver.com]
Commuters in Cape Town may have spotted a minibus taxi or two with watermelons painted on the sides. Social media users may have heard of ‘Watermelonia’ (a reference to Palestine), or merchandise with watermelons. How did this refreshing summer treat become the face of the Palestinian resistance?
The history of the watermelon as a symbol of Palestinian resistance dates all the way back to 1967, when apartheid Israel took charge of the West Bank and Gaza in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. During this time, the terrorist regime imposed a ban on public displays of the Palestinian flag.
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Resistance
Interestingly, the watermelon fruit comprises the colours of the Palestinian flag – red, black, green and white. When the occupation forces stormed an art gallery in Ramallah in 1980, they arrested Palestinian artists and seized their artwork. Even paintings of watermelons.
In the decades since, the watermelon has come to be a powerful symbol of unwavering Palestinian resistance amidst constant aggression, frequent bombardment and unyielding attempts to wipe out the country.
In the Cape, thousands of kilometres south-west of the blessed land of Al Aqsa, artists have used the watermelon to show solidarity with the oppressed people.
“We decided together that we would use this taxi project as the perfect way to create solidarity within our landscape of the Cape,” said Thania Petersen, the Capetonian artist behind the painting of three minibus taxis with the symbol, in an interview on Salaamedia.
This, she said, was done to make sure “that everyone knows that the people of South Africa and the people of the Cape stand against apartheid, stand against colonisation and stand with the people of Palestine”.
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Solidarity
The watermelon takes on an even more potent symbol of solidarity when it is plastered across minibus taxis in South Africa. This was because this form of transport has long transcended the boundaries – spatial, economic and social – that were demarcated by the country’s former apartheid regime.
“There is no better way than to do that with the taxis,” she said, adding, “They go through boundaries which was made during apartheid to keep us in certain places. The taxi is a very politicised vehicle in itself.”
For the overwhelming majority of South Africans, the Palestinian cause for justice is one with close ties to the quest for freedom from White-minority rule until 1994. “I do think that most people do understand and support Palestine because of our own history.”
Petersen said she would be glad to work with other artists who would like to submit their artwork. She said, “We can do this collectively as a nation”. In the meantime, the watermelon emoji is a powerful one to circumvent censorship on social media and spread awareness. All the way until Palestine is free.
