I visited Jerusalem on Christmas of 2008 to be blessed by the Holy Places such as the NATIVITY Church, the Resurrection Church, AL-AQsa Mosque and others. I was shocked by what I

witnessed: high walls separating brothers from brothers, Christians from their churches, and Moslems from their mosques

 Only a few could visit their religious places, those whom the Israeli authorities give permission. Nor cold children, Moslems and Christians, enjoy their religious and national festivals. Oppression, sadness and misery were apparent in the faces of the innocent children

 Mothers eyes were filled with tears for they could not regain happiness for their kids, and because they found themselves unable to worship God as he wants them to. They have been deprived of the simplest human rights: to live freely and securely in their homes and land, to visit their relatives in the neighborhood and to get their daily bread. All these miseries were, and still are, the result of the racist Wall and the countless check points that have been built at a time when the Wall of Berlin had been pulled down

 Israeli warplanes (mad in U.S.A) started bombing all civil features in Gaza Strip: Places of worship (Christian and Moslem), hospitals, schools, shops and private homes in addition to the governmental buildings. I am not a poet, nor I claim or even dare to claim that I am a poet, but such a scene inspired me with the following lines. I don’t know whether they are lines of poetry or just expressions of feelings. Yet, I, myself, have the sense that expressions are suppressed and lack a lot of vividness. It may be because they reflect gloomy condition of oppressed people or because they gushed out of depressed heart which is full of sorrows, pains, hopelessness and despair

 Walls of racism cropped up

In face of Christ

No pray, no love grow up

But hate and fight

No smile, no drink no cup

In day or night

Nativity has been closed up

Ascension light

Has been in dark dimmed up

By nasty ones whose wrist

Checked land, checked man and nectar sup

Venom ax hit trees that got ill

Tears of olive trees flowed down hill

Planets bent their heads of shame and wept

Earthworms got sick and droned in wet

Life joy changed to sadness and hell

Environment has rung mourn bell

 

The ever smiling rose

Has washed her smile with tears

For the checking points cause

Her feel shiver of fears

 Olive trees bent down heads

 Oil of Baptism of Christ

Turned red from blood of kids

God save me from death fist

 Blockade gave birth to starving kid

He was fed with plane bombs instead

 Of food or water and some bread

 

I, indeed, wonder when will this world of the 21 century, when will the peoples of so called civilized and advanced countries, when will the world of very high scientific progress and technology revolution, when will the highly educated peoples who proudly claim that they defend human rights and call, day and night, for liberty, human equality and democracy, when all of them open their eyes to the truth that touches hearts and awakens human conscience, may be they do their best to establish peace, love, security and cooperative human civilization in the M.E. and all over the world

 

Ibraheem Yhhya Shihabi