Our women taught themselves medicine
and set up medical teams.
They performed critical surgeries
under apartheid regimes.
And gave birth at checkpoints
as soldiers looked in between.
Our women learned to teach
in abandoned spaces.
They built their own schools
wrote their own rules
for the sake of their own children's education.
Our women learned to cook
without any supplies.
Used wood for cooking gas
and traditional clay for oven
to bake taboon.
And keep their own families alive.
Our women even created resilient art.
They knit flags when they were banned
and carried them proudly
as they marched hand in hand.
Singing songs they wrote
inspired by their scars
as their loved ones stood wrongfully
behind prison bars.
Our women are bilingual
صحيح أنهم احتلوا أرضنا. لكنهم لم يشغلوا ضميرنا.
(It is true they occupied our land. But they never occupied our conscience).
Tarub Abdul Hadi founded the Palestinian Woman’s Congress
and resisted the British occupation.
Ahed Tamimi’s defying slap
reached multiple generations.
Muna Elkurd’s journalism revealed a settler colonial state.
So did the lenses of Bisan, Hind, Plestia, and Lama Jamous
our youngest journalist to date.
Our women, my mother grand and great,
continued to preserve our culture by all means,
it’s strength we've all inherited from our ancestors genes.
So our women do so much more than just talk
we could even teach you
but I at least would rather not.
***
Saja Kilani is a Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian actress, model, writer and spoken word poet. You can follow her work via her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sajakilani
I came across her poem on my socials and for me, it is a poignant reminder about the power of words to tell a story and refute a particular narrative. It is a reminder of the strength and resilience of women, especially those living under occupation.
The story of settler colonialism, violence, collective punishment and the erasure of indigenous cultures is not a new phenomenon. However, each time we witness it occur in human history, it is no less brutal and inhumane. It affects us all one way or another in the narratives we adopt. Often truth is watered down and what is lost in the process are the voices of dissent. The voices of resistance.
It is difficult to speak of love and compassion when we live in a highly militarized world that insists we be devoid of both. But words can be a powerful weapon for peace and change no matter what languages you speak. This is why I have chosen to share these words on my blog.
***
Right now there are genocides, conflicts, starvation, happening around the world placing civilian populations at risk (like Palestine, the Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, West Papua, Myanmar, Afghanistan etc). Often these are a result of Western interference and expansionist foreign policies. One way we can help is to not be silent, to educate ourselves on domestic and global issues, contact our relevant members of parliament and/or support relevant humanitarian aid agencies.
UN World Food Program (WFP) provides aid to vulnerable people all over the world https://www.wfp.org/
UNICEF Australia provides aid to children in emergencies https://www.unicef.org.au/
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Doctors without Borders https://www.msf.org/
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) provide urgent healthcare https://www.map.org.uk/
*Note: I am not affiliated with these agencies. They provide humanitarian aid and assistance to people living in crisis worldwide. As such their website links are not owned or operated by my site in anyway. Please research and carry out your own due diligence before donating to anyone online.