Profound poem shared from heart during Bega Solidarity with Palestine event
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00:00 My poem is called Once Upon a Time. Once upon a time in a land far far away, a nation where kids are just numbers, where blood is just water, where streets are filled with martyrs.
00:20 Once upon a time in a land far far away, your existence is illegal. No nation, no identity. They stole it from you, they called you evil.
00:34 You don't deserve to live, they said. They took what you never give. Your land, your culture, your stories, your history. And they want you to forgive. Forget. Let go. Leave your land to a foe.
00:52 Let the IDF know we are all standing tall. We will never leave our land. We will never ever go.
01:04 Once upon a time in a land far far away, mothers hugged their dead babies tight. Forgive me, dear child, they cried. For I should have shielded you from their cruel smite, from a sky full of fire, from a world full of horror, from your siblings' cries all night.
01:30 I cried, I cried. Forgive me, my child. Close your eyes just for once and imagine those kids as your own daughters and sons.
01:43 They once had a dream of coming home from school with two cookies and ice cream, two moms' hugs with smiles that beam in a blink of an eye. Now under bombshells they scream.
02:00 Life is not what once had seemed. Now mama's dead, baba's gone. They now run in my bloodstream.
02:09 Once upon a time in a land far far away, the IDF told us, "Move here, move there. You are safe nowhere. Walk for miles. Carry nothing. No jackets, no bedding.
02:25 To a tent so cold, so empty, so old. Leave your beds, leave your homes, leave your memories. It's gone. It's over. Let's go. Move faster. Move now."
02:41 Why your grandma's walking slow? With a limb so frail, she had walked once before. Her memories won't fail. And a time after that, and a time before that, she had walked.
02:58 From Tiryatin to Khalil, to Gaza from Jenin, killed her here, killed her there. It will end nowhere. Grandma's barefoot on the sand. Grandma aches for this land.
03:14 For her stories never dies. For her truth never lies. For she knows Mother Earth, for this genocide, testifies.
03:27 Once upon a time, surgeons operated on broken tables and bin lights. Once upon a time, doctors are standing in their wrecked hospitals, paralyzed.
03:40 Not knowing what to do, feeling empty inside. Their tears tell stories of caesareans with no drugs, no amputations, and infected cuts of premature babies breathing smoke and gas.
04:00 No electricity means no dialysis, no x-rays, no capacity for analysis, no x-rays, no admissions, no respite, no remissions. Painful nights, painful days.
04:20 In Palestine, people suffer in a thousand different ways. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, journalists are denied just the basics of their rights.
04:35 Wa'id al-Tahdouh's family, murdered all overnight. Glimpse at them, draped in white. Once again, glimpse at them, draped in white. Said ma'alish, said ma'alish, it's alright.
04:52 Put his press vest on, held the mic on the grinds, shed the lights. Once upon a time, twice upon a time, and a time after time, Gaza's under attack.
05:09 Palestine's under attack. And guess what? Palestinians still alive. Palestinians are still fight. While the world is still watching, Palestinians hang tight.
05:23 While the soldiers get supplied with weapons, Palestinians hold the fight, shouting, "Land back! Land back now!" Shouting, "Land back! Land back now!" Let the world know we won't rest till we make this right.
05:40 This is Palestine. It is ours. Our olives, sweet and sour. From its wheat, we made the flour. On the street, feel the heat, feel the power. Can't defeat, can't devour. It is Palestine. It is ours.
06:01 One last thing, IDF. One last thing, IDF. Think this land will forgive what you've done? When you dance on the sand, where you've done all your wrongs, in your dream, they will haunt you.
06:20 In your dreams, they will haunt you. One by one. No relief from your sadness. All the blood you have poured, we bear witness. We all bear witness. For we are all Palestinians. In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians. Thank you.
06:44 [Applause]
06:49 [Applause]
06:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]