A Voice Against Oblivion: Zeina Azzam’s poem at Nakba commemoration
‘They’re really sweet, they don’t look Palestinian.’
GAZA casualties, live statistics (17,492 children killed so far)
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People convened a commemorative Panel Discussion “1948-2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakba” on 17 May 2024 in the ECOSOC Chamber, at United Nations Headquarters.
Source: HAARETZ
Palestinian-American poet Zeina Azzam recited a few of her poems during the event, including this one entitled “Write my name.” She mentioned that some parents in Gaza have resorted to writing their children’s names on their legs to help identify them should either they or the children be killed.
Write my name on my leg, Mama
Use the black permanent marker
with the ink that doesn’t bleed
if it gets wet, the one that doesn’t melt
if it’s exposed to heat
Write my name on my leg, Mama
Make the lines thick and clear
Add your special flourishes
so I can take comfort in seeing
my mama’s handwriting when I go to sleep
Write my name on my leg, Mama
and on the legs of my sisters and brothers
This way we will belong together
This way we will be known
as your children
Write my name on my leg, Mama
and please write your name
and Baba’s name on your legs, too
so we will be remembered
as a family
Write my name on my leg, Mama
Don’t add any numbers
like when I was born or the address of our home
I don’t want the world to list me as a number
I have a name and I am not a number
Write my name on my leg, Mama
When the bomb hits our house
When the walls crush our skulls and bones
our legs will tell our story, how
there was nowhere for us to run
Zeina Azzam
Watch the complete event: • “1948 – 2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakb…
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