Dignity

Skin striping the bones

to cover your nakedness

Water runs through throat

to save your hidden face, your shamelessness

Rub salt on this wound

to clean the stitches of weakness 

Tailored dignity made from this

tattered brown clad

Iron chains only pin these hands

show the metal of this man

Rid yourselves from these flimsy rods

redeem the anguish of a mother sobs

reclaim the freedom of a land robbed

rewrite your history

on the prison walls,

Defeat your enemy

angry
hungry…

Gaza wakes up to a new dawn and a new day, blessed with fresh new hope. Gaza rises after a brutal eight-day Israeli assault, where, as usual, women, children and the elderly bore much of the loss. A ceasefire was announced on November 21 between the resistance and Israel, putting an end to Israel’s intensive bombing and the threat of ground invasion. Under this truce, Israel is obligated to stop targeted killings, stop cross-border incursions, and ease the movements of goods and people.

Full of destruction, mourning, and hope, Gaza woke up to a similar day four years ago after operation Cast Lead. Operation Cast Lead started with Israel targeting several sites in Gaza simultaneously, leaving more than 200 killed in one day. After a week of intensive bombardments, it started a ground operation that proved nothing but deadly to the civilian population.

Palestinians remained steadfast for 23 days without electricity and water. However, this time Israel’s “Pillars of Defence” was limited to larger scale bombings, though the targets were almost the same (infrastructure, civilian houses, empty lands, security compounds). Continue reading

Little hands
soft and round
cupped crayons,
in the corner of the paper,
drew smiley sun painted yellow
butterflies, swings, and green meadows,
huddled family, a house with small windows,
and a cloudless sky with a rainbow,

Little dreams,
thoughts of the unknown
as adventure bigger than their small world
Where they roam, float, and soar,
Laugh and agelessly grow,

 

Calloused hands
Found the house of small windows
tore the crayoned rainbow
Soft and round
became soon pillars of clouds,
buried into the ground
so small a shroud
so quite a sound,

Little souls
soared with the dews
roamed with the dune
left our world too soon,

Little hands
now will remain young forever,
no longer drawing dreams on paper,
Little hands,
cup your hands together
and pray for their hands to be tied
forever,
forever and ever.

What I really admire about Edward Said is that he kept writing till his last breath. The interview doesn’t just tackle Palestine, but also some  personal insights on his sickness and how he coped with it.  The reason I keep delving into Edward Said’s writings and interviews is that I always find inspiration and motivation in them. 

If you want to learn more about Palestine and its history then it’s one right source! 

Download MP3

Sunset at Cape Town

However, all this charm couldn’t stop my heart from thinking that I am seeing Africa’s beauty, what about the beauty of Palestine?  The caramel sunset upon the Atlantic was breathtaking; it looked very much like Gaza’s. And every time the beauty of Cape Town took me, I couldn’t help but to think that if Gaza wasn’t besieged by Israel, it would look the same. 

Gaza, a real tourist attraction

Gaza Strip, believe it or not, naturally, is a very beautiful city treasuring some real touristic attractions. The yellowish sands, the warm Mediterranean, and the hospitality of Palestinians make it a nice place for a vacation. There are some historical sites from different eras. The sea cruises feel so freshly cool, and I am sure there are many more hidden potentials. But Israel’s siege destroys any chance for this sector to thrive.  Israel’s control over crossings kills the domestic tourism, the least.  (Hardly any Palestinian from the West Bank can visit Gaza and vise versa). Let alone keeping the Strip a war zone doesn’t encourage people to visit.  Though Cape Town and Gaza are distinctively different geographically, I keep thinking that if Gaza was free, It’d look like Cape Town.

Sunset at Gaza

I want to visit Palestine, 

Apartheid Israel prevents Palestinians from visiting Palestine. I heard thousands of times stories about how beautiful the city of Acre is. However, I never saw any of its beauty. At school, we studied the different names of cities and what they were famous for. I learned that Jericho is the best in winter, as it is warm. Ramallah and Jerusalem were the best in summer, as they are mountainous cities. But, what we studied remained pictures in textbooks.  In a free Palestine, we’d go there for school trips.

Stunning South Africa makes me yearn to see the beauty of my own country that’s deliberately is kept away from us, so we our sense of belonging is killed. I wish I were able to tour Palestine from the very north to the very south. Palestine is not so big like South Africa, so a road trip would be enough to go everywhere in there.  That trip would include the scenery of the green hills, the sea, and the mountains. It’s a trip where I can stop to pray in Al-Aqsa mosque and spend as much time as I wish. A trip where there would be no checkpoints, no walls, no Israeli apartheid.

But for now the reality is different, going to South Africa is more possible than going Jerusalem. I remember there was one sign at Cape Point that shows the distances from that point to various cities around the world. Jerusalem was one of them. 7468km is the distance from Cape point to Jerusalem; I thought if I were a South African, I’d take a plane and end up in Palestine. 78km is the distance between Gaza and Jerusalem, but being a Palestinian makes Cape Point a more possible place to travel than Jerusalem. 

South Africa is very dear to my heart. This Cape of Good Hope sign as much sorrow it draws, it’s also brings hope. As South Africa freed itself from apartheid, so will be Jerusalem, so will be Palestine.And then we, all, will enjoy the beauty of Palestine. 

Reblogged from Occupied Palestine | فلسطين:

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March 12 2012

After March 9 and March 10 assault on Gaza,  disproportional attacks,  massive collective punishment of Gaza, Israel pounding and killed already 15 Palestinians, it again killed early sunday 2 people in Gaza. A 12 year old child named Ayoub Useila and Ahmed Deeb Salem, 23 years old. Ahmad Deeb Salem was married 2 days before Israel assassinated him.

Read more… 789 more words

Infinite darkness possesses the horizon,
As death falls like a hammer from the sky
to fix the nails in their coffins
Bones are pulverized, the powder
flies away by the wind carrying the mortal coils,
No flowers are growing between the shrouds of snow,
the blood is running fresh in the veins of the soil.
Time isn’t redeemed yet,
life isn’t redeemed yet,
No remedy for the unborn, the born, and dead, yet
It’s forgotten, wiped out, it’s sinking, 
shut your eyes, plug your ears,
the volume of death is getting too high
death has no shame showing his crimes.
the quagmire is winding,
no end is coming,
In the shade of barren hope, 
I ponder
how come they see the light?
Let me join you and see the light,
Let it burn my sight to only what fear blinds
 I want to see the light
to keep the fight,
to see life redeem lives,

This man is dying to live a dignified life. He refused to bow for the Israeli occupation and its constant humiliation. It’s shameful that all these solidarity campaigns on the ground in Palestine and online on Facebook and Twitter are still not being heeded. But we should not give up.

The simplest action you can take is to write his family a letter, here

It’s sad that at any given minute we may hear that he passed away leaving orphaned children, widow, and a bereaved family. Learn more on Khader Adnan. 

Taken by Abir Kopty

On a separate note, “Jaffa – The Orange’s Clockwork” is a documentary aired on Al-Jazeera English. I thought I should share it, because the historical analysis of the “orange industry” shown in this piece is important to reflect and understand the realities of the conflict.

I won’t prolong the introduction, all I can tell you is that through this excellent film, you’ll learn that:
1-Palestine and Palestinians are not invited.
2-There was a time when PALESTINE was a home of coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
3-Once Zionists came into the Palestine to implement their colonial project, which ended up in occupying Palestine and the expulsion of Palestinians, this coexistence died.
4-Zionists propaganda and fact spinning are integral part of the Zionist project. This propaganda is mainly based on racist stereotypes.
Enough said, watch the documentary and see it for yourself: 

Jaffa – The Orange’s Clockwork

A story of life
existed
before time was named
before the pen knew its way
to speak pain
a story of an encrypted map
farmed, sailed, grown
by the hands
of the “invented” people
of the stolen land

A story of a lie
invented
after time was born
invented by
treading the ashes
of the burnt
of hope
of homes
woe

a story of life
defying a lie
invented,
then invaded,
then killed,
then named,
then renamed,

the lie is drying
the truth is rising
the pen is writing
the story of the exited life
the story of the invented lie.

In the past few months, I’ve been living very fast-paced events. I’d be lying if I say that I 100% fathom all of them. But all I know is that they look like everything I hushed to myself in my sleepless dreams but ironically never thought they would happen.  But they did happen!

I’m a few days away from reuniting and getting married to the man that I really respect, admire, and love. Our story proves that love knows no borders, no siege, no time, and no occupation. It all started by a tweet debating whether the loud bang that was heard across Gaza was an Israeli bomb or just some thunder.

We started as friends who shared the same interests. We tweeted together as Egyptians were toppling Mubarak in Tahrir square.  After a while of chatting online, Mohammed became my best friend. Long chats about Palestine, the world and the future dreams led us to feel that we can build a future together. 

Mohammed is Palestinian South African working in Qatar, Allah (SWT) brought us together through , I am listing all the social media tools we used to communicate, Twitter, WordPress, Facebook, and Gtalk, then later on Skype.  He left Gaza just a few days before I first knew about him.  The last thing I expected in my life is to be engaged and married to A Palestinian South African! Even my parents when I first told them,(yea am a Muslim woman who didn’t have arranged marriage, get over your stereotypes), they were like SOUTH AFRICA?! And I was like “CAN U BELIEVE THAT?!” But love knows no difference between South Africa and Palestine. Actually between South Africa and Palestine there’s the love of freedom and dignity.

April, we were officially engaged. But it was without meeting Mohammed in person.  From April to September, our chats were often cut by the electricity outages, bad internet connection, and the Israeli siege on Gaza.  Hearing the ghastly stories of Rafah crossing, the continuous closures and the difficulty of going out and in Gaza, made us more determined to meet. But there were times when I used to tell Mohamed: “being engaged to a Palestinian is a pain, isn’t?” “I love you more because you are a Palestinian” that answer was enough for me to stand the days, weeks and months of talking on Skype.

Palestinians don’t have airports, to travel anywhere, so we have to cross a 6 hour trip though Sinai to Cairo then from Cairo’s international airport to the intended destination.  So, a trip to South Africa took about 6 hours in car and 8 hours in plane, but the result was totally worth it.
Finally I met my future husband. I enjoyed South Africa for the richness of its history. I just need to mention going to the Apartheid Museum where similarities between the Israeli occupation and the former Apartheid system are striking. I felt like I was home in South Africa. And indeed, now, it’s my second home.

After a 40 day trip between Gaza, Cairo, South Africa, Cairo again, Jordan then Cairo again, I came back home with my parents.  Mohammed went back to Qatar.  Going back to Gaza was like sending me back to the prison. We both felt the fear of not being able to go out again. But I’m from Gaza-Palestine, and our wedding must be in Palestine, too.  Time flew by, very soon I’m uniting with the man that I love in the country that I love, but I’m also a few days away from leaving my family and Gaza. Though I’m moving, I know that no matter where I go, I’ll carry Gaza, Palestine and the struggle along with me.  Home is where my heart is. And my heart, mind, and roots will be in the country and the city where I grew up.  

As I am starting my new life in Qatar, I’ve been buying Palestinian crafts, Gaza mugs, Palestinian embroidery, Palestinian traditional dress and kufeyiahs. I am moving a part of Palestine that I really cherish into my small house. And I know that I’ll be telling stories about the sea, the war, and the contradictions of life in this part of Palestine.
The goodbye will be difficult. Leaving my family, especially my mum, will be the hardest thing I’ll do in my life. The fact that Gaza is not free makes it difficult to visit it whenever I want. Any trip would take me to cross a desert and withstand the humiliation of Rafah crossing let alone the possibility that it can be closed anytime.  So, I’ll live on the hope that I’ll be seeing them again, in sha Allah.

I wrote this post to the man that I want to spend the rest of my life with, to the city that gave me so much, to the family and friends that I will aguishly miss.

I’ll leave you for love not for not loving you.

And as we met through a tweet, some of my friends will be tweeting from our wedding, and maybe Mohammed and I will be able to tweet from inside the wedding hall  :D.

You can check my Twitter account :
@Livefromgaza
Mohammed’s
@Haddadme
my friend Amal
@hopeinGaza

Our virtual wedding invitation