Global Day of Action for Gaza

13th January, 2024, Navi Mumbai

A few people from Navi Mumbai, where I reside, met just like thousands worldwide on 13th January 2024 to show our solidarity with the struggle for peace and equality, starting with a ceasefire in Gaza.

We read poetry from Palestine, among other things, and here are a few for you to listen to.

1. No Moses on Seige by Mohammed El-Kurd
   Read by Sameen

Read the poem here:

2. Khaled Juma Oh Rascal Children Of Gaza
   Read by Peter Griffin

Oh rascal children of Gaza.
You who constantly disturbed me
with your screams under my window.
You who filled every morning
with rush and chaos.
You who broke my vase
and stole the lonely flower on my balcony.
Come back,
and scream as you want
and break all the vases.
Steal all the flowers.
Come back..
Just come back..

3. Land, by Suheir Hammad
   Read by Peter Griffin

his approach
to love he said
was that of a farmer
most love like
hunters and like
hunters most kill
what they desire
he tills
soil through toes
nose in the wet
earth he waits
prays to the gods
and slowly harvests
ever thankful

4. I Suffer a Phobia Called Hope by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat
   Read by Gopal MS

Each time I hear that word
I recall the disappointments
that were committed in its name:
the children who don’t return,
the ailments that are never cured,
the memory that’s never senile,
all of them hope crushed
beneath its wings as I smash
this mosquito on my daughter’s head.

Full poem here.

5. I am a Destitute Woman by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat.

   Read by Sameen

I’m a destitute woman
Who lives on a checkpoint
Trivial things make me happy
Such as if my day passes without seeing a single bored soldier
I write my new novel there
About the butcher who wanted to become a violinist
Mad and evil
But his hand failed him
For a sharp, shiny knife
You know how bleak it is
To be alone and living on a checkpoint
Cheering for simple things
As if to transcend a chattering poet
And exhausted labourers carrying bags
Of bananas, guava and tnuva milk
I’m a solitary woman
Who’s lived in a grave for years
So far I haven’t seen any demons or angels
But I definitely see a lot of bored soldiers

6. No Explosions by Naomi Shihab Nye

   Read by Peter Griffin

To enjoy
fireworks
you would have
to have lived
a different kind
of life

I hope this will be a gateway to reading more poetry and writing and discovering art from Palestine or Israel and other regions worldwide that help us make this a better, equal and less violent world.

Peace.