To Linah Al Saafin, Al Bireh critic

[this is not a satire]

In what was supposedly a brave attempt at satire, Linah Al Saafin seemed to have landed herself into some drama as locals and those in diaspora read her blogpost about the natives of Al Bireh, herself being one too. As commentary became limited, and reactions seemed to rage in Al Bireh this summer, the notion or the intention of the blogpost will always be left unknown. After all, in literary or critical analysis, it is not typically the intention of the writer that academics seek to understand, but the structure and tools employed that lead us to perceive these intentions. Ignoring the slanderous attack on people from Al Bireh, the most offensive thing about Al Saafin's writing is that it simply does not reflect the true nature of what "satire" means, manipulating a form of writing for mere self defense. This weakness makes her article, and backlash at those who found it offensive, flimsy. It would have been applauded if, when reacting, she had tried to be consistent with the notion of satire. But her defensiveness gave way to her emotions.

When one watches Colbert Report or South Park, they understand that the shows are what we term to be Contemporary Satires. Yet it baffles me where Al Saafin's writing falls, for it does not fit under Anglo-American nor is it Medieval. It certainly does not mimic anything Quintillian. There is no juxtaposition. The use of poor language certainly make it anything short of witty. Thus Al Saafin unfortunately falls short of satire, while that may have been her intention, making her writing to be presumed as ridicule. This is not uncommon to happen, as poor writings in the past have been seen as hateful while the author may have truly been attempting to be satirical.

Al Saafin is still a developing writer and perhaps prematurely tried to tackle the difficult nature of writing a satire. It has a very fine line, and unfortunately for Saafin, readers did not discuss the satire but rather the social implications of what she had written 

While some of the jokes and stereotypes of families from Al Bireh are shared here, Al Saafin takes it a bit too far. Calling the village's girls whores, or too cheap and sleeping on cardboard, takes it a bit too far, especially considering that Al Saafin is from and living in Al Bireh herself. She goes to also attack those living in diaspora as "shitheads" who are not educated.

The alarming factor of her post, is it seems that Al Saafin is legitimizing her lashing out at Al Bireh by contrasting it to her Gaza background as well. And thus, in a cheap way to attract the reader, she tries to get away with serious offenses against the people of Al Bireh by capitalizing on the immediate connotations of what Gaza is. Manipulating the Gaza factor, she tries to draw sympathy to her justified hate. While she attacks the elder women of the village for their sharp tongues, Linah Al Saafin simply does the same in this post. She does not offer an alternative to what she is writing about and flagrantly uses language to attack.

Further ignoring this factor, it is with deep shame that I write that websites like Electronic Intifada and the various campaigns like Freedom Waves and Freedom Riders seek the assistance of Linah Al Saafin while not holding her accountable to the harsh words she has published. While she champions herself as an advocate for Palestinian rights, her dehumanization of an entire village, manipulation of Gaza for sympathy, and attempt to configure this all into a "satire" does no justice to her cause of really defending and upholding the essence of Palestine. After all, many diaspora villages are riddled with mixed identities of their diaspora experience, and this is common when speaking of entirely displaced populations, whether forcefully or by condition. While it is understood some social issues exist in Al Bireh and the greater Ramallah area, there are more constructive ways to go about this. But sadly, Al Saafin did the reactionary thing--which begins as secondary,  a step behind the initial action, and sometimes descends into a backwards motion.

It is humbly requested that Al Saafin address her writing about Al Bireh with a constructive follow up, reflection of her method, and an evaluation of what her intentions may have been perceived as. After all, it may have been a social experiment for all the reader knows (something by which writers can manipulate when they fall into trouble). To leave that post unanswered, yet allow Al Saafin to assume a role in media and publicity for the popular causes in Palestine is a complete disservice to the cause. Electronic Intifada must be held accountable in promoting such a writer if EI truly is invested in and promotes the humanization of all Palestine. And to take a step further, perhaps Al Saafin can attempt to write another satire and writers interested can help her develop her technique. Because to the outside reader, the one not residing nor aware of what Al Bireh or Palestine is, Al Saafin may have just lent the enemies of the Palestinian cause ammunition against our unity.