Sara Haddad releases The Sunbird

Sara Haddad is a Lebanese-Australian writer and editor who has worked in publishing for over three decades. Her recently-released debut novel, The Sunbird, tells the story of Nabila Yasmeen, an elderly refugee from Palestine, who was driven out of her village in June 1948 along with her family, friends and compatriots during The Nakba. 

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The book, which esteemed writer Thomas Kenneally (Schindler’s List) complimented as ‘splendidly paced’, is described as “a modern parable which tells the story of millions who just want to go home.”

Neighbourhood Media caught up with Sara Haddad to learn more.

Sara Haddad

The Sunbird is described as a parable for Palestine. What inspired you to write this book, and why did you choose the parable format to convey your message?

Justice, freedom, and self-determination for Palestine and Palestinians is something I’ve supported for a long time. I’ve spent many years encountering people who are misinformed about Palestine, or simply not interested. It’s extremely frustrating because our collective response to Palestine is one of the greatest moral failures ever. I didn’t set out to write a parable, but I needed a word to describe what I had written.

The sunbird as a symbol is quite evocative. Can you tell us more about the significance of the sunbird in the context of your story?

There are many symbols of Palestinian culture and resistance in the story and the sunbird is one of them. One of the first things I wrote for the story was my main character, Nabila, lying in bed listening to bird song. I decided early on that Nabila had an affinity with birds, and Nabila herself is birdlike, physically and habitually. When I imagined her perching on the window ledge watching her teacher, I researched birds that are indigenous to Palestine and discovered that the Palestine Sunbird became the national bird in 2015, so Nabila quickly became the sunbird.

The Sunbird

You’ve previously said that you wrote The Sunbird to raise awareness and to educate. Which books and writers have you looked to for education?

Many experts on Palestine – Ilan Pappé, Rosemary Saigh, Edward Said, and Noam Chomsky, for example. Norman Finkelstein is excellent too. 

How does your personal connection to Palestine influence your storytelling, and in what ways is The Sunbird a reflection of your own experiences or family history?

I was brought up in an extended Lebanese family who first became engaged with the issue of Palestine in 1967, which was the year I was born. So I grew up learning about Palestine and being certain that the only position to have was one that supported Palestinian liberation and self-determination. I also grew up with stories of village life in the Levant and Arab migrants in Australia in the late 1940s. The character of Nabila is inspired by my father’s five sisters, three of whom I spent a lot of time with as I was growing up.

Sara Haddad

Parables often carry a universal message. What broader human experiences or emotions do you hope The Sunbird speaks to?

Above all, I hope The Sunbird connects people with their humanity so that they realise we are all human, with the same insecurities and joys, hopes, and fears. 

The landscape and setting play a significant role in The Sunbird. How important was it for you to evoke a strong sense of place?

Very, very important. It is essential that the reader is completely immersed in Nabila’s world, both the world of her present and the world of her past – her homeland – to understand what she has lost, and how that determines and shapes everything in her life.

Were there any challenges you faced when distilling such a complex political and historical situation into a simplified, allegorical form?

The biggest challenge was distilling the volume of information into something digestible. The situation is far less complex than it is made out to be. I found a great degree of overlap in the details of peoples’ personal anecdotes, which helped to create one story out of many.

How do you think literature and storytelling can contribute to greater understanding and empathy for the Palestinian experience, especially for readers unfamiliar with the conflict?

Sara Haddad

Literature and storytelling are uniquely placed to engender empathy. Over many decades, the true story of Palestine has been hidden and manipulated to reframe Palestinians as somehow undeserving, less than human. Fiction is a safe space where it’s possible to confront the things you’re afraid of and still know you’ll be ok.

You’re not only an author but an advocate for Palestine. How do you balance your roles as a storyteller and an activist, and how do the two intersect in your work?

The Sunbird is first and foremost a work of activism because it aims to educate and raise awareness. But it’s also art because fiction is my medium. As I was writing the story, front of mind was Arundhati Roy’s call to ‘Use your art to fight’. So that’s what I’ve attempted to do with The Sunbird, to use my art to fight. Art and activism are completely interwoven in this book. Both come from a place of deep love.

How hard was it to condense the story of so many lives into a book of less than 100 pages?

In some ways, not very difficult at all. I read and listened to a lot of oral history, people talking about their experiences of the Nakba, the ‘catastrophe’, the ethnic cleansing that was carried out in Palestine from 1947 to 1949. There were so many similarities in the stories because of Plan Dalet, which contained the guidelines that determined how the Zionist militia expelled Palestinians from their villages.

Can you tell me about some of your favourite books?

One of my favourite books is Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy. Some favourite books over recent years include Tara June Winch’s The Yield, Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, and Damon Galgut’s The Promise.

Are there any authors who have inspired you as a writer?

With regard to inspirations for The Sunbird, Claire Keegan was a definite inspiration. Her writing is so spare but captures so much nuance.

What are your hopes for the future of Palestine, and how do you envision the role of writers and artists in shaping that future?

My hope is that Palestine receives the justice it deserves and has been denied for so long. I hope that all Palestinians, wherever they are, are able to return to Palestine and live in their country freely and without fear.