Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Andre Keet and Prof Haidar Eid.
In a collaboration between Nelson Mandela University and the South End Museum, Professor Haidar Eid’s book Decolonising the Palestinian Mind (2024), was recently launched at the museum in Gqeberha.
Born in a refugee camp and raised in Gaza city after his parents were forcibly removed from their home village Zarnouqa, Palestinian activist, scholar, writer and singer, Prof Eid has written widely on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
His book aims to provide a space for deeper discussion of, to quote Eid, “a renewal of formulations of Palestinian liberation that invoke the conceptual framework of decolonisation”.
The book opens with a vivid personal reflection, situating its narrative against the ongoing destruction in Gaza. It also features the artwork of Gazan artist Malak Mattar, symbolising resilience and hope.
Prof Eid's exploration is deeply influenced by his engagement with postcolonial literature, the Black Consciousness movement, and figures like Steve Biko and Ghassan Kanafani.
His writing critically examines the Palestinian struggle through the lens of intellectual and cultural resistance, the importance of a transformative shift in Palestinian consciousness amid increasing pressures on their identity and culture.
“The book argues that the Palestinian struggle for liberation, requires not only physical resistance but a decolonisation of the mind,” said Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Andre Keet.
Prof Eid said that, while his writing has been inspired by various thought leaders, every idea he has been defending, since he started thinking about the liberation of Palastine, has been inspired by Palestinian author and politician the late Ghassan Kanafani.
Subjected to bombing and multiple forced displacements, Eid along with his wife and their two young daughters, accepted our government’s offer of evacuation to South Africa in December 2023.
He spoke about suffering unimaginable losses in the past year, over 50 of his close relatives, friends, students and academic colleagues, killed by Israel’s Défense Forces, and his suffering of “survivor’s guilt” for leaving his country.