Jawad
The 15th of May 2022 marked 74 years of Al-Nakba. The Nakba refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine which started all the way back in 1948 after a massive portion of European Jews were ‘given’ Israel as some sort of compensation for their persecution – a land that rightfully belonged to those who were already inhabiting it and had been for centuries.
And that was how the state of Israel came to be.
Quickly, Judaism became less and less influential, and the extremist movement of Zionism crept in and this led to the use of violence to suppress the voices of Palestinians.
According to Al Jazeera, “Between 1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinians from a 1.9 million population were made refugees beyond the borders of the state. Zionist forces had taken more than 78 per cent of historic Palestine, ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed about 15,000 Palestinians in a series of mass atrocities, including more than 70 massacres.”
It is important to note, though tens of thousands of Palestinians lost their lives and nearly a million lost their homes during this year, the Nakba still hasn’t ended.
Canvas of the Oppressor
He picks up his eraser
With every stroke children disappear.
Cackling as he goes along
He brushes vibrant streets red.
Pressing down on the canvas
Olive trees suffocate,
And a blessed land bleeds death
With a precise flick,
An entire city vanquished
Skies painted smoke black,
Mountains scribbled to nothingness
Heavenly horizons colored grey
Sighing in despair.
Now for the scissor,
Cutting through lands held prisoner
He smirks & smiles at his endeavour.
Beneath the ink,
A beautiful canvas
Repainted with blood
And redrawn forever.
The whole world applauds well done.
A gavel by the name of Balfour cries,
Sold to the highest bidder.
By @Sinan.writes
No one is truly free until the Palestinian people are free.