Dear friends,
I can’t believe it’s October already, the month that I come back to the US. I’ve started to think about my presentation, so you’re welcome to start thinking about where and when you’d like me to present. :)
I think I’ve been boring myself with articles, but from boredom springs creativity, right? So for this e-mail, I’ve composed 17 haikus (they’re 17 syllables each, so it seemed an apt number). I’m afraid they’ll be quite incomprehensible to those of you who are not here with me, but hopefully you’ll understand and/or appreciate some of them. There are a few Arabic words in them. “Alhamdulilah” means “Praise God” and is said all the time here. “Nos nos” literally means “half half” but can be translated as “so-so.”
On a more serious note, I’ve included at the end only a few of the names and ages of those killed in Gaza in the past 48 hours. I just heard that Israeli security forces have dubbed the operation “Days of Penitence,” as they supposedly try to force militants to repent. I find this gross misuse of the Jewish tradition absolutely disgusting.
Enjoy the haikus, and please don’t ignore the growing list of victims of this war and occupation.
Child in Jayyus
She sings for us in English
“We Shall Overcome”
Demo in Budrus
All arrestees get released
Alhamdulilah
Does the donkey have
a name, I ask. “No,” she says.
He: “His name is Bush.”
Fatima comes in
Sheds her hijab and her coat
Sprawls out on our couch
Settler women
Called by soldiers at checkpoint
Come to harrass us
Bus stopped for hours
Why? I ask the soldier there
“Bureaucratia”
“Hamil.” Lovely word.
Pregnant. Used both for women
And the olive trees
Zajid sweeps the floor
Three years old, he’s almost four
Hope in Palestine
Border policeman
“How my English?” he asks me.
“Nos nos,” I respond.
Killing in Gaza
The army shoots randomly
Forty, forty-one…
On the birth of our friends’ twins:
Ward’s two new siblings
Cousin Zajid wants to share
“No, they’re both for me.”
Faisa brings home twins
Says to me about the girl
“Heba looks like you”
On Sounds:
Vehicle blares sound
In the village, jeep or truck?
Curfew or veggies?
Gunshots in Hares
A wedding or invasion?
Laughter. A relief.
On Yom Kippur:
Waiting for nightfall
Our landlord searches for stars
Asks, “Does the moon count?”
Houses demolished
Kate: “Did the soldiers repent
Before or after?”
Writing my haikus
Lesson in being concise
Palestine in brief
The following is a list of 18 people killed yesterday in Gaza. Overnight last night and throughout the day today, the toll has risen to 40-something dead and at least 130 wounded:
“The Ministry of health released the following list of residents killed in the military raid conducted on Thursday; the ministry said that the list is not final yet;
1. Tawfiq, Al-Sharafi, 24, Jabalia.
2. Saed Mohammad Abu Al-Eish, 14, Jabalia.
3. Mos'ab al-Barade'ey, 21, Jabalia.
4. Fathi Al-Sawaween, 23, Jabalia.
5. Khalil Abu Naji, 23, Jabalia.
6. Ahmad Madhi. 16 Jabalia.
7. Usama Al-Barsh, 21 Jabalia.
8. Abdul-Hai Al-Najjar, 21, Jabalia
9. Rafat Jadallah, 23, Jabalia.
10. Sofian Abu Al-Jedyan, 40, Jabalia.
11. Mohammad Al-Habal, 60, Beit Lahia.
12. Hamza Ahmad, 24, Jabalia.
13. Mohammad Al-Jabeer, 17, Jabalia.
14. Mohammad Al-Hilo, 60, Jablia.
15. Mohammad Al-Masrey.
16. Rami Thaher. Jablia.
17. Atef al-Ashqar, Jablia.
18. Sofian Abu Al-Jidyan, 33, Jablia.”
