Thank you Lina

This little Lina only months ago
Had a soldier’s gun
Pointing against her head

Special thanks to Uprooted Palestinians

(LONDON) - When I visited my friend, we sat to watch the news together with her little girl Lina, who surprised us with her wisdom and compassion.

Six-year-old Lina
Sitting with her mum
In her world of dreams
Watching news

Gazing away
Abruptly she says
“Mama
You know
Those Jews
Who took our land
If suddenly
They changed their mind
Decided
To give it all back
Even our trees
And our food
Then they’d become poor
They wouldn’t have to worry
We will give them
Some of our food
Share with them
Every thing we have
Mama
We won’t be bad”

This little Lina
Only months ago
Had a soldier’s gun
Pointing against her head

This little Lina
Only weeks ago
Had her uncle’s home
By their bulldozers
Razed to the ground

This little Lina
Didn’t know that
Only today
Some settlers
Protected by guns
And soldiers,
Invaded her village
Silwan
Near Jerusalem
Forced the inhabitants out
Of their homes
And occupied them

This little Lina
Proved very wrong
All that they say
“The abused …
Will become the abuser”

This little Lina
Never lost her soul
This little Lina
No doubt
Is our hope
And our ultimate victory

“To smile when confronted with the most severe oppression, is an act of Resistance rooted in unparalleled beauty.”

~ Jonathan Azaziah

“When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest.”

Special thanks to Uprooted Palestinians

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Nahida Izzat is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian refugee who has lived in exile for over forty two years, after being forced to leave her homeland at the tender age of seven in 1967, during the six-day war. She has a degree in mathematics, but art is one of her favorite pastimes. She loves hand-made things and so makes dolls, cards, and most of her own clothes. She also writes poetry, participates in written dialogues and believes in building bridges, not walls.

She started writing when her friends insisted she should write about her memories, experiences and feelings as a Palestinian.When she did it all came out sounding—she was told—like poetry! So she self-published two books: I Believe in Miracles, and Palestine the True Story.

Her dream is to return back home to a free and liberated Palestine.