Palestine Present Again in Budapest: This Time at the International Book Fair

SadaNews - The Embassy of the State of Palestine in Hungary opened its participation in the 30th Budapest International Book Fair, attended by a notable number of ambassadors from Arab and European countries, on Friday at the "Palna" defense center in the Hungarian capital, and it will continue for four days until October 5.

With the participation of the Embassy of the State of Palestine alongside the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the two are the only Arab embassies participating in the fair.

The Palestinian pavilion showcases a distinguished collection of books and novels in three languages: Arabic, Hungarian, and English, covering various topics such as literature, history, heritage, and politics. The pavilion also includes works by prominent Palestinian writers like Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani, alongside those of writer Mona Al-Shami, a Hungarian researcher of Palestinian origin.

This year, the embassy is also participating with a children's book in Hungarian that tells the story of a Palestinian family's visit to the city of Jerusalem, where the family learns about sacred places and tastes traditional Palestinian foods, in an attempt to introduce the new generations to the Palestinian identity in a simple and engaging way. This idea and execution is the work of Dr. Rawan Abu Zarqa, the cultural activities and publications officer at the embassy.

As the initial preparations for the Palestinian pavilion were completed, there was a notable influx of visitors from the very first moments of the opening day, who showed great enthusiasm to learn more about Palestine. The Palestinian pavilion attracted dozens of ambassadors, citizens, Hungarian and foreign supporters, as well as members of the Palestinian and Arab communities residing in Hungary.

For his part, the Palestinian ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Fadi Al-Husseini, affirmed: "Our vision is clear, and our decision is firm that Palestine will be present anywhere and anytime. What more can we say at a book fair where the Palestinian cultural and literary heritage is vast and deserves everyone's recognition and understanding of what this great people has offered and continues to offer in all fields."

The Palestinian participation this year in the Budapest International Book Fair comes as part of the embassy's efforts to enhance cultural communication between the Palestinian and Hungarian peoples, within a vision aimed at having Palestine present in international forums not only politically but in all fields.