Dear Friends,
Cristina came to hear Remi Kanazi last Wednesday and to see Five Broken Cameras and hear Iyad Burnat last Friday. I asked her if she’d be willing to write a response. This is what she gave me.
Mark
We ask ourselves,
What can I possibly do
To stop the violence
To protect the children
To free the captive
To heal the injured
To end the suffering?
One way we might begin
Is by loving our friends.
Love them by sharing delicious food with them.
Love them by making them chai tea from scratch with whole milk.
Love them by listening very closely when they tell you their most precious dreams.
Love them by asking them to join you
For a night of poems by Remi Kanazi
For a screening of Five Broken Cameras.
Love them enough to show them your joy
and your pain.
Then, they will begin to notice things for the first time.
When you talk about the injustice
That keeps you up at night,
They will hear the way your voice quivers with passion
And they will want to know more.
When your brow furrows in pain and disgust
Or your lips smile at the thought of the walls coming down,
These things will catch their eye
And they will want to know more.
When they hear Remi say, “What does it mean to be pro-Palestine?”
When they hear Gibreel ask his father
“Why did the soldiers kill Phil?”
They will need to know more.
When they hear the faint but crystal clear sound
Of your heart singing its song of peace
Steadily and relentlessly
Their heart will begin to hum along.
And together, with all the other friends
And their friends
And friends of friends
(All of whom loved each other so much
That they shared their joy
And their pain
With the other)
You will form a chorus of singing hearts
Impossible to ignore.
