WATCH: Remi Kanazi's new poem, "Nakba," about his grandmother's expulsion in 1948

We will return.
That is not a threat
not a wish
a hope
or a dream
but a promise.

In the above video, posted today, on Nakba Day — when Palestinians mark the anniversary of expulsion and exile from their homeland — New York-based poet and activist Remi Kanazi performs a moving new poem entitled “Nakba.” In an email to The Electronic Intifada, Kanazi said the poem is an “intimate piece that focuses on the dispossession of my grandmother in 1948 and some of the realities the Nakba produced.”

Last fall, Kanazi performed the poem “Normalize This!” about the issue of normalization, the push to whitewash Israel’s occupation and violation of Palestinian rights.

For more on Remi Kanazi’s work, visit his website (www.PoeticInjustice.net) or follow him on Twitter @Remroum.

Comments

Nakba by Remi Kanazi

Permalink Ghassan Tarazi replied on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 13:48

Wow! That touched me, Remi. I've recently heard the horrific stories of my parents fleeing Jerusalem in April of 1948 - when my mother was pregnant with me. Thank you for this poignant poem.

Nakba

Permalink John El Amin replied on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 23:56

Rami- my Brother those were words that spoke to the heart. Wow. Tears run from my eyes as I write. The horror, the pain and suffering but the strength to carry on in the name of your country and the name of your people.
The same happened to my ancestors ripped from Africa and brutalized here, then the history re- written , like a fairy tale.
Speak my brother ! Keep speaking, as your words will be as a weapon of truth !