Poetry: Thank You

Some people know all too well how badly things have gone in the land now occupied by Israel, yet few realize the world-level criminal nature of it.

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(LONDON) - In a world where we eternally observe the Holocaust and the tragic plight of the Jewish people during the Second World War, we often forget about history's innate ability to replicate itself.

Today in Palestine, or the tiny amount of what is left of Palestine, live some of the earth's most oppressed people, and they live that way at the hands of the very same people who, through the grace of the United States and England and the Soviet Union and many other nations, were spared the ultimate genocidal elimination under Hitler.

How is it that we manage to do this? Or allow this?

Some people know all too well how badly things have gone in the land now occupied by Israel, yet few realize the world-level criminal nature of it. The countries that won the Second World War continually aid and abet the Israeli's mission to apparently eliminate all Palestinians from their land in the name of Zionism; an extreme religious view taken from the Bible that considers Israel to be "The Promised Land of the Jews."

The Bible does not say that the Jews have an inherent right to kill and destroy the people whose land they took, but that is the history that has taken place.

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Thank you

So, let me get this straight:

You tear my veil to free me

You jail me to rid me of my terror

You kill my beloved to liberate me

You shoot my baby to erase my misery

You starve me to show me how to vote

You threaten me to bring me to my senses

You wage war on me to help me find peace

You slay my people to teach me compassion

You humiliate me to aid me live with dignity

You insult me to illustrate freedom of speech

You crush my bones to save me from my evil

You demolish my home to elevate my morality

You torture my children to teach me how to love

You uproot my tree to raise my ethical standard

You steal my resources to bring me social justice

You assassinate my leaders to bring me democracy

You destroy my history to educate me about progress

You dehumanise me to coach me into humanity

You bomb my town to train me into security

You wipe me out to push me to civilisation

You scorn my faith to bring me salvation

Thank you sir

How can I -ever- pay you back?

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Nahida Izzat is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian refugee who has lived in exile for over forty two years, after being forced to leave her homeland at the tender age of seven in 1967, during the six-day war. She has a degree in mathematics, but art is one of her favorite pastimes. She loves hand-made things and so makes dolls, cards, and most of her own clothes. She also writes poetry, participates in written dialogues and believes in building bridges, not walls.

She started writing when her friends insisted she should write about her memories, experiences and feelings as a Palestinian.When she did it all came out sounding—she was told—like poetry! So she self-published two books: I Believe in Miracles and Palestine, The True Story.

Her dream is to return back home to a free and liberated Palestine.

If you like poetry and are intrigued by the notion of helping the Palestinian people and learning more, you can purchase Nahida's books, I Believe in Miracles and Palestine, The True Story by visiting:

I Believe in Miracles: a Collection of Palestinian Poems

ISBN 13: 9780954839109 | ISBN 10: 0954839102

£12.99 paperback Nahida Izzat (2004)

You can write to Nahida : nahidaexiledpalestinian@gmail.com