Men in the Sun tells the story of three Palestinians whose paths cross in a smuggler’s office in Basra: an elderly peasant so deeply attached to the land that, pressing his chest against it, he seems able to hear its heartbeat; a young activist left with no choice but to flee when his struggle against injustice leads him towards prison; and an inexperienced student forced to abandon school and learn the ways of the real world.
They hope that once they reach Kuwait and begin earning money in this prosperous Gulf country, they will change not only their own fortunes but also those of the Palestine, families, and loved ones they have left behind. As they set out, they must contend with the desert’s unbearable heat as well as the painful memories that haunt them. By the end of their journey, we see that they have never truly escaped Palestine or its anguished history.
First published in 1963, Men in the Sun is a text that has continued to be written ever since. This is why we can also read it as the story of migrants who perish in the desert, drown in the ocean, or freeze to death in the back of a lorry or the baggage hold of an aircraft.