In our post-truth world, the art of messing with words has been perfected. When the Ramallah-based Ashtar Theatre issued a global call to creatives of all disciplines to join the cultural intifada in solidarity with the Palestinian people, I responded by writing a series of poems. Words under Occupation is an act of resistance and disentanglement. It comes in two versions: as text and as video. You will find the link to the video under the text.

genocide

“vile” is the word

that rises from the rot and pestilence of policy, the propagation of “evil”

obscene inversion of “live”

photograph

a family picture

grandparents, parents, their offspring, cousins, close relatives, all arranged together

inside makeshift shrouds

home

tent, school, playground

speak of trust, belonging, holiday, the joys of learning, friendship, laughter

hijacked and set on fire

courage

to keep your head

clean wells, build shelters, grow food, tend to the wounded, give birth, bury the dead

knowing you may be next

harvest

olive, mint, watermelon

communal bread and refreshment, fragrant with tradition and hospitality

uprooted, blocked, verboten

normality

in a bitter twist of fate

the blame shifts systemically from perpetrator to victim

an irony lost in relentless propaganda

press

messenger of truth

bearing witness in a raw, uncensored, unfabricated, on-the-ground sort of way

fair game for drone, bomb and sniper

history

burnt and buried alive

supplanted by misleading stories, false claims, myths, monuments to gods of greed and wrath

the epicentre of lies

numbered

without number

are the days, laws, stats, concerns, deals, contracts, treaties, conventions, resolutions, constitutions

rendered meaningless, endless, empty drivel

freedom fighter

born in the heart of humanity

baptised in civil rights movements and international charters

declared terrorist by oppressing masters 

convenience

since you undeniably exist

cultural appropriation, cheap labour and military experiments turn into profitable byproducts

collateral benefits

privacy

in a surveillance state?

loving intimacy between the land (water, air, stone) and its people (blood, breath, bone)

defies dehumanisation

sanctuary

betrayed by fake promises

hearth, grove, house of prayer, designated safe zone, none can offer refuge

just the heart

hamsa

how to stop violence

beware: “once evil” hides within violence, “once evil” reconstitutes violence, begets violence, dare

look evil in the eye

hand

of a child

pink, soft, adorable, sticks up from under rubble, grasping air, numb

last gasp of life

art

rites of resistance

poems on walls, play acts in court yards, calligraphy on kites, names printed on body parts

lines in the sand

hope

left naked at the core

in mothers, martyrs and the millions who renounce the might of empire

quietude for generations to restore

View the video here