May 15th 2009 marked a shameful anniversary: 61 years since the Palestinian Nakba; 61 years that Israel has denied the right - recognised by international law - for the Palestinian refugees to return to their own land; 61 years that the nations of the world have approved the aid for Palestinian refugees, as if they were victims of a natural disaster instead of taking a meaningful position against the policies that produced and have prolonged this tragedy. To he who carved his path through the wounds of millions
To he who, in his armoured car, crushed the roses of the garden
To he who smashed the windows of the houses in the depths of night
To he who set flame to the vegetable garden, the hospital, the museum
And then sang as they burned.
To he who wrote, with his step, the lament of the mothers,
To he who, in his armoured car, crushed the roses of the garden
To he who smashed the windows of the houses in the depths of night
To he who set flame to the vegetable garden, the hospital, the museum
And then sang as they burned.
To he who wrote, with his step, the lament of the mothers,
bereaved of their children,
their vines torn down.
To he who pronounced sentence of death on the songbird of joy
To he who from his aircraft swept away
The dreams of youth
To he who shattered the rainbow,
Tonight, the children with the severed roots
Tonight the children of Rafah proclaim :
To he who shattered the rainbow,
Tonight, the children with the severed roots
Tonight the children of Rafah proclaim :
We did not weave blankets from a strand of hair
We did not spit in the face of the victim
(after extracting the gold teeth)
Why to you rob us of sweetness
and give us bombs?
And why do you make orphans of the children of the Arabs?
We did not spit in the face of the victim
(after extracting the gold teeth)
Why to you rob us of sweetness
and give us bombs?
And why do you make orphans of the children of the Arabs?
From Children of Rafah, Samih Al-Qasim
The recent massacre in Gaza brought to light again the long and bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the tragedy of the Palestinian people, forced to live in conditions of absolute precariousness, of continuous threat, of constant insecurity because of the Israeli occupation.
The media showed the ruins left by the destruction rained down on Gaza by operation "Cast Lead": a desolate landscape, shattered by bombs that fell from the sky, following the white trail of Phosphorus, a disfigured place where life stopped with the advance of the armoured cars: a pile of rubble and ashes where women, men and children ran distracted with fear, burning like torches: many lay still on the ground, with the broken and mutilated bodies, beside brothers, mothers, fathers, children, husbands, wives... dead.
But the accomanying words seemed to want to soften the brutality of the images, clarifying that Israel was reacting to attacks by Hamas, that they were defending their population from the launching of Kassam missiles against the towns close to the Gaza border. Once again the immense destructive force used by Israel passed in to second place and the military attack became the expression of the right to defend themselves.
It's never said that Israel, between 1948 and 1967 took over more than 78% of the land of Palestine and that they continue to occupy the rest with new and extended settlements.
It's never said that the state of Israel was born and developed its policies based on a triple denial:
- Denial of the existence of the Arab community in historic Palestine. Zionism was pursuing the objective to give a homeland to the Jews of the Diaspora in the land promised to their forefathers, based on the slogan: "A land without people for a people without land".
- The denial of the cultural identity of the Palestinian people . Palestinians are not recognised as a people with their own culture, but treated generically as Arabs and so destined to live in any Arab country.
- Denial of the humanity of the Palestinians. For many Israelis, the Palestinians are not humans but rather blood-thirsty beasts, terrorists, who have no respect for life, not even their own, since they turn their own bodies into bombs: even the women are not normal mothers because they wouldn't suffer for the death of their children - they let them go to die then mourn them as martyrs.
The truth is not spoken when the conflict between Israel and Palestine is talked of without recognising the Israeli occupation as the fundamental obstacle to peace.
The Women in Black from Milan have prepared a dossier to support counter-information to combat the silence and dishonesty of the media. Copies are available from marinella.sanvito@fastweb.it. They cost 10 Euros plus post and packing.
