Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 31)
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- Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 31)
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Borhaneddin Al Abbooshi writes, «I hate aggression regardless
of who commits it against who... I composed these poems when
Hitler invaded Poland and then France, which made me hope
that France would thereby be forced to withdraw its troops
from Syria and Lebanon, and that Britain, too, might have to
quit the Arab countries under its rule. We are not with Hitler,
but at the same time, we are definitely against the British and
French occupation of our countries. What we want is to be
independent and free from all occupation.»
When the British solicited the support of the Arabs, Al
Abbooshi wrote a poem entitled «We Will Not Be Bitten Twice
by the Same Snake,» which is a reference to Britain’s betrayal
of the Arabs in the aftermath of World War I. Addressing the
British, he says:
Having murdered our peace
And brought us terror and death,
You now want to make friends with us!
There is blood on the hand you extend to us,
As there is blood on the soil whose love you seek!
You have sold us wholesale to Zion,
And now you come to buy our friendship!
Bitterness was coupled with absolute distrust of the
intentions of the colonial powers. Thus, when General Spears
headed for Damascus to «save» it from the French, Al
Abbooshi wrote «History Repeats Itself,» a poem in which he
suspects the British general of being «another Lawrence in
disguise.» This is a reference to Lawrence of Arabia, who early
in this century came to Arabia, and lived with the Arabs for
many years as a dear friend. When he returned to Britain, it was
disclosed that the «dear friend» had been a spy for the British
administration. In a sarcastic vein, the poem addresses General
Spears thus: «How many pillars do you intend to make?»
(Pillars is a reference to The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the book
which Lawrence wrote upon his return from the Arab world.)
In his notes to the poem, the poet makes the shrewd remark:
«When the British administration made that plot [Lawrence’s
espionage mission in Arabia], it perhaps miscalculated the
consequences. Whatever immediate benefits it may have gained
therefrom, such benefits are nothing compared with the
damage it has caused European, especially British, long — term
interests in the region. Having alienated nations from one
another, colonialism, blinded by aggressiveness and narrow
self—interest, is now intent on making nations distrust
individuals of other nations.»
Another outstanding poet of this period is Hassan Al
Bohairi, whose poems are different laments of one and the
same event — the steady drowning of the homeland. He
published three volumes of poetry, all of which are deeply
stamped with grief and apprehension. Typical of his poems is
«Haifa Dwells in our Eyes,» which depicts the sublimity and
natural beauty of his home city — its groves and shore, its
mountains and woods. In a sad tone he then adds:
So great is our love for you
That if we are separated from you
We shall certainly cease to be
Though we may continue to breathe.
In this and: other poems, Al Bohairi stresses his belief that
one’s homeland is not just the place of one’s birth and
residence, but an integral component of one’s consciousness
and relationship with life. Nor is it merely a political entity, but
a psychological, cultural and spiritual reality of utmost
significance to all those belonging to it, both as individuals and
as acommunity.
In «A Voice from Palestine,» the poet’s sadness gives way
to a more positive sentiment:
But tears, however abundant,
And sighs, though deep,
Cannot save our Palestine.
The enemy is making it impossible.
For us to live in it or live for it;
Therefore let us die for it.
With Fadwa Tukan, who is mainly a post — nakbah poetess,
we have the most mournful voice in Palestinian poetry. In less
than eight years she had to lament both the sudden, untimely
death of her dearest brother, Ibrahim, and the loss of her
homeland. To her, Ibrahim had been not only a loving brother,
but an intimate friend and devoted teacher. His death stamped
her mind and her poetry with a distinctive melancholic touch.
The titles of her volumes of poetry indicate this tenor: The
Spring of Pain, Alone with Days, etc. Of this major aspect of
her poetry she says, «With his death, fate dealt my heart a blow
that triggered an inexhaustible spring of pain whence all my
songs flow.»
In an apostrophe to Ibrahim’s soul entitled «Dream of the
Memory,» she asks if he knows what has befallen the
homeland; if he can see members of the bodies of his people
«scattered across roads... their eyes gouged out and thrown
into the mud.» In this and, indeed, in the majority of her later
poems, her grief for a personal loss, the death of her brother, is
inextricably fused with her grief for a national disaster, the
nakbah.
Abdul Karim Al Karmi is rightly called the Poet of the
Nakbah. Except for a handful of songs, his poetry depicts the
crying injustice suffered by Palestinians in the period
1947 — 48: the death, the horror and the misery. Addressing a
fellow homeless refugee, he says:
Together, brother, we go;
Therefore carry your wound
And walk by my side.
Then, predicting the ultimate outbreak of a Palestinian armed
revolution, he goes on to say:
If you and I did not burn
Who would light the dark night
Engulfing us
And all those sharing our plight?
How else could we see the way back
To the land of love and light?
In another poem, he says to a weeping refugee:
31 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 45
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- أغسطس ١٩٩١
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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