we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

Palestinians circa 1948 walking down road as they are being displaced.

History’s lost page

Once upon a time / In a land not so far / A people lived in peace / How pure they truly are!
Ahmed Dader
  • Gaza Strip
Palestinians circa 1948 walking down road as they are being displaced.
Palestinians being displaced in the 1948 Nakba. Archival photo

 

Once upon a time,
In a land not so far,
A people lived in peace,
How pure they truly are!

It was a heaven on earth,
With a people at peace
But a new plan gave birth
to a violence without cease.

One day, someone knocked on their door
Seeking hospitality. They said,
“This is your home, we’re sure,
We only need shelter and bread

And we heard you are kind,
And without you we’ll be dead!
Don’t leave us behind,
Please be our friend.”

The hosts welcomed the guests
and gave them what they needed.
From food to lands to nests,
How well they were treated!

But as their number started to grow,
From friendship they withdrew their hand.
Now their real aims began to show,
What if only they ruled the land!

It was no more sharing,
The guests claimed it’s now theirs,
A land where they were hosted,
And called “guests” they wouldn’t bear.

“Peace was never the solution!”
The guests then said,
“Let’s make a revolution!
Let’s paint this land red!”

So the bombing started
And they began genocide.
Hundreds of thousands killed,
And peace officially denied.

The hosts could do nothing but defend
For their land, their water, their sand,
The war then stayed for decades,
And we wish the world would understand.

Man with goatee against a blue sky.
Mentor: David Tasker

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