JAKARTA — GagasMedia together with Amar Ar Risalah and Wahyudi Pratama held a book launch and discussion on October 7: The Sun at the End of Rafah at the Islamic Book Fair, at Hall A Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Senayan, Central Jakarta, Saturday (17/8/2024). This launch was also a synergy of kindness with Dompet Dhuafa, where every purchase of the book, 10% will be donated to humanitarian programs for Palestine.
In the book 7 October: The Sun at the End of Rafah, there are three fictional characters involved in this story: Thorik, a journalist; Jamal, Thorik’s best friend who works as a cameraman; and Syaima, a Palestinian woman who is the head of the volunteer and medical staff. After October 7, Syaima is Thorik’s fiancée.
They faced many incidents that forced them to risk their lives in their respective professions. Thorik tries to convey a narrative about Palestine that is in accordance with the facts, while Jamal records the acts of Israeli atrocities. Syaima, on the other hand, struggles as the head of volunteerism and medical personnel to help others in Palestine.
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“The land where Thoriq, a journalist from Suara Gaza, was born was fertile and overgrown with sweet fruit trees. Life was harmonious, accompanied by the cheerful sound of children running along the land of his birth. Never did they expect that one day would come to take away the harmony in that land. The clear sky instantly turned cloudy and the birds could no longer chirp freely. The children were still running around, this time no smiles adorned their innocent faces. Only fear and sad cries as one by one the buildings they called ‘home’ were destroyed. As a journalist, Thoriq felt the need to speak the truth. Together with his best friend, Jamal, they struggled to renew the journalistic narrative about Palestine, which began to be accused of drama and pity.”
Yes, that’s a part of the story in the book October 7th: The Sun at the End of Rafah, a work of fiction inspired by the true story of humanitarian fighters in Gaza, Palestine by Wahyudi Pratama. This book is based on Amar Ar Risalah’s research and journey, published by GagasMedia.
Amar Ar Risalah itself raised the story because according to him, journalists are the main spearhead in revealing the truths that exist in Gaza, Palestine. This is because there is a lot of misleading information shared by irresponsible people, which causes a misunderstanding of the events in Gaza.
“Here it will be seen how the occupation targets journalists’ heads because they are afraid that the truth will be revealed, afraid that there are corpses everywhere, whose photos are revealed, there are mass graves everywhere, the occupation is afraid that all of this will be revealed. That’s why journalists are targeted,” said Amar.
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The author also wants to provide awareness to readers about the importance of the journalist profession, especially in the midst of the events that have befallen Muslims today. Although often overlooked, journalists play an important role in conveying the truth.
“When this incident was real in front of my eyes on October 7, through social media, even bang Risalah also provided data, I finally chose the path that we must voice this, raise this issue into a book, so my reason is when someone loses his child, his head is beheaded, that’s all that makes me moved, even though Palestine is far away there, but at least, we have a way to help the independence of Palestine,” said Wahyudi Pratama.
Meanwhile, Raisa Wulan, Editor of GagasMedia, revealed that this collaboration was initiated with the aim of raising the issue of Palestine. For this reason, they looked for partners who could channel donations and finally collaborated with Dompet Dhuafa.
“We are trying to make this work have an impact on friends in Palestine, so we are looking for who can help us to distribute donations, finally we met Dompet Dhuafa. Hopefully, we can make this work a benefit for friends in Palestine, in addition to the benefits for writers, readers and so on, hopefully this work can be accepted with a spacious heart. Hopefully, on August 17, Indonesia’s Independence Day, our friends in Palestine will also be free,” he said.
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Diana Rahma as the Partnership Team of Dompet Dhuafa appreciated this act of kindness. According to her, the truth for Palestine must continue to echo.
“Alhamdulillah, it’s a great pleasure to be involved in this collaboration with GagasMedia through the book sale of October 7th: The Sun at the End of Rafah. This collaboration reminds us that the struggle of the Palestinian people is not over yet, and journalists and medical teams are also an unforgettable part of the Palestinian struggle. May the result of this collaboration bring a lot of goodness and victory for the Palestinian people,” said Diana, optimistically.
Wahyudi also hopes that, through this work, readers can support the survival of the Palestinian people and be part of the struggle for Palestinian independence in the future.
The hope is that because this book was born out of a donation that was directly assisted by Dompet Dhuafa, the hope is that when friends out there who have not been able to do anything for Palestine, of course there are preventive steps that we need to take, one of which is donating through this work, hopefully friends can be more open, meaning that when you buy this work, you are helping our brothers and sisters in Palestine,” he added. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Anndini Dwi Putri
Editor: Dhika