This Brave New World, CXXII
in memory of Palestinian poet, literature professor, and activist Refaat Alareer
who was killed on December 6, around 6 PM local time in Gaza, in a targeted Israeli airstrike that also killed his brother, his sister, and four of her children.
calm between fireballs
a child, somewhere, in Gaza
looks up to heaven
FYI: Watch the Scottish actor Brian Cox read Refaat Alareer's poem, “If I Must Die,” posted on December 1 on Twitter/X, a heartbreakingly prophetic farewell poem that has now been translated into more than 40 languages.
“If I Must Die” by Refaat Alareer
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze –
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself –
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up
above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.
Added: This Brave New World, CXXIII
Ways of Seeing
row after row
of smiling children photos
on the pockmarked wall
We Are Not Numbers
in the winter rain
outside the schoolyard
rain washing a child's blood
into another's ...
a solider draws on the blackboard
his dog, dead a week ago
FYI: Haaretz, Dec. 17: He Drew His Last Work of Art on a Gaza School Blackboard Hours Before He Died: Yonatan Hatzor was a member of an elite unit. His creations possess humanity, but the horrors he drew foreshadowed his death. 'He was the strongest guy I knew, but he drew so delicately.'
He called his final project "The Animal Within" – a series of phantasmagorical figures, a few of them pretty scary. One drawing shows a partly human figure like some kind of rusty, skeletal Robocop – and he's hugging a dog.
"His drawings were harsh, but there was also a lot of humanity in them. He wasn't a sad person, but he was restrained. Combinations of man, animal and monster intrigued him. I was sure we'd see exhibitions of his work one day. It's a talent we'll be missing out on."
Added: This Brave New World, CXXIV
in broad daylight
help, help, help in Hebrew
cut off ...
a blood-stained white flag
drifts to tangled rubble
FYI: Haaretz, December 16 IDF [Serial International Law Violator] Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi claimed responsibility for the incident, saying "it is forbidden to shoot at those who raise a white flag and ask to surrender."
And Article 23 of both the Hague Conventions II (1899) and IV (1907) provides that 'it is especially forbidden … person is hors de combat if 'he clearly expresses an intention to surrender'.
And United Press International, Dec. 17: Pope Francis condemns terrorism after Israeli military kills 2 Christian women in Gaza City.
Pope Francis on Sunday condemned terrorism while denouncing the killing of two Christian women who were shot "in cold blood" while taking shelter at a Catholic church in Gaza City, allegedly by a sniper in the Israeli military.
Added: This Brave New World, CXXV
SOSwritteninfoodscrapsra-ta-ta-ta-tat ...
FYI: The Times of Israel, Dec. 18: Slain hostage’s dad says IDF murdered him
Father of Alon Shamriz, 26, says lawlessness led to soldiers... shooting him in Gaza, ...
...they removed their shirts and wave a white flag...They were walking in broad daylight, it wasn’t dark. They walked in the middle of the road and the troops there just slaughtered them
Added: No More Fairy Tales, XXVI
columns of ash
as high as 3,000 meters
(this rage inside...)
FYI: The fillowing is a relevant excerpt from "AN OPEN LETTER to THE PRESIDENT & U.S. CONGRESS," accessed at https://resist.bot/petitions/PFQTBM#
ReplyDeleteAlareer was an accomplished academic. After earning his Ph.D. in English Literature in 2017, he taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza. He spent his final days thirsty and starving, worrying about how to explain to his children there was not enough food or water for them. Those close to him describe him as “generous, above all. Gracious, gentle, patient, funny.”
He elaborated on the juxtaposition of doom and community in some of his final messages before his death. Everyone knows they can die at any time - amidst that horror, the community clings to one another. Neighbors and strangers alike share their limited supplies with those in need. Alareer was concerned about making sure that he left enough food for others when he was able to buy supplies. He didn’t want to contribute to panic or hoarding by leaving shelves bare.
Calls for his murder began on 10/29 after he posted a reply to a tweet from Israeli journalist Dovid Efune who claimed Hamas had burned Israeli babies alive in ovens. This narrative has since been fully disproven by the likes of Israeli journalist Chaim Levinson. The insidious lies about “burned” or “beheaded” babies have spread like wildfire. Biden himself parroted these lies, and continues to even after the administration has made retractions.
When calling out this propaganda, was Alareer’s dark humor the best way to go about it? No, but no one should be put to death for a joke, especially one that correctly called out misinformation.
Alareer may be dead, but there are many still alive telling his story. There must be a ceasefire now. Stop the genocide. Stop funding and supplying Israel with weapons.