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
فال بد أن تعيش أنت
رفعت العرعير
إذا كان ال بد أن أموت
فال بد أن تعيش أنت
لتروي حكايتي
لتبيع أشيائي
وتشتري قطعة قماش
وخيوطا
(فلتكن بيضاء وبذيل طويل)
كي يبصر طفل في مكان ما من ّغّزة
وهو يح ّّدق في السماء
منتظرًاً أباه الذي رحل فجأة
دون أن يودع أحدًاً
وال حتى لحمه
أو ذاته
يبصر الطائرة الورقّية
طائرتي الورقية التي صنعَتها أنت
تحّلق في الأعالي
ويظ ّّن للحظة أن هناك مالكًاً
يعيد الحب
إذا كان ال بد أن أموت
فليأ ِِت موتي باألمل
فليصبح حكاية
ترجمة سنان أنطون
Translation by Sinan Antoon
Reading by Brian Cox
In memory of Refaat Alareer (American Friends Service Committee)
Shalom (שלום), MAA
An International Educator in Vietnam 
Thanks,
And may peace continue to be with you.
Many blessings
Joy
Sent from my iPhone
Genocide and ecocide: https://tomdispatch.com/the-killing-of-gazas-environment/
Shared on LinkedIn by a US international education colleague:
3 months of the most televised genocide in history paid for by the United States and every single American tax dollar. What utterly needless horror. And the same schools and universities, who teach about how to spot the warning signs stay silent. The same international education organizations who have missions statements about bettering society stay silent. Countries take decades and centuries to even come close to overcoming infinitesmally smaller skirmishes. It’s far past the time for institutions to move past empty rhetoric and lip service about civic duty, global citizens, etc, because there’s no bigger civic duty, no more of a pressing global need to take a stand against than a holocaust with endless documentation of kids torn apart like fresh bread.
Letter to Refaat AlareerA year ago on Dec. 6, 2023 Israel murdered Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer in Gaza. His poems, however, remain, condemning his killers and beseeching us to honor our shared humanity. https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/letter-to-refaat-alareer
Chris Hedges
Dec 11, 2024