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If I Must Die
''If I Must Die'' is a poem by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer. Written in 2011, the poem became famous following the death of its author, and has been recognized as a testament to the resilience, resistance, and humanity of the Palestinian people during the Gaza genocide. It has been analyzed in academic, journalistic, and cultural contexts for its evocative imagery and its symbolic challenge to narratives of occupation and marginalization. It has been described as one of the most widely known poems of the 21st century. Background and Authorship Refaat Alareer was a professor of English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza and co-founder of the ''We Are Not Numbers'' project, which amplified the voices of young Palestinian writers. Alareer began writing poetry in English in response to the Gaza War (2008–2009), seeking to directly address an international audience without the barrier of translation; Alareer believed Palestinians must "speak for themselves" in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Refaat Alareer
Refaat Alareer (; 23 September 1979 – 6 December 2023) was a Palestinian writer, poet, professor, and activist from the Gaza Strip. Alareer was born in Gaza City in 1979 during the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, which he said had negatively influenced every move and decision he made. Alareer earned a BA in English in 2001 from the Islamic University of Gaza and an MA from University College London in 2007. He earned a PhD in English Literature at the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017 with a dissertation on John Donne. He taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza and co-founded the organization We Are Not Numbers, which matched experienced authors with young writers in Gaza, and promoted the power of storytelling as a means of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. On 6 December 2023, Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, along with his brother, sister, and four of his nephews, during the Israeli i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palestinian People
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous population, descended from Jews, other Semitic groups, and non-Semitic groups such as the Philistines, had been mostly Christianized. Over succeeding centuries it was Islamicized, and Arabic replaced Aramaic (a Semitic tongue closely related to Hebrew) as the dominant language" * : "Palestinians are the descendants of all the indigenous peoples who lived in Palestine over the centuries; since the seventh century, they have been predominantly Muslim in religion and almost completely Arab in language and culture." * : "Furthermore, Zionism itself was also defined by its opposition to the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants of the region. Both the 'conquest of land' and the 'conquest of labor' slogans that became central to the dominant strain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaza Genocide
According to a United Nations Special Committee, Amnesty International, and other experts, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza against the Palestinian people during its ongoing invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip as part of the Gaza war.: "This report focuses on the Israeli authorities' policies and actions in Gaza as part of the military offensive they launched in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 while situating them within the broader context of Israel's unlawful occupation, and system of apartheid against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. It assesses allegations of violations and crimes under international law by Israel in Gaza within the framework of genocide under international law, concluding that there is sufficient evidence to believe that Israel's conduct in Gaza following 7 October 2023 amounts to genocide." The acts of genocide described by experts and human rights organisations include large-scale k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic University Of Gaza
The Islamic University of Gaza (), also known as IUG and IU Gaza, is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City. It was the first higher education institution to be established in the Gaza Strip. The university has 11 faculties capable of awarding BA, BSc, MA, MSc, MD, PhD, diplomas and higher diplomas, in addition to 20 research centers and institutes and the affiliated Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital. The Islamic University suffered damage in air strikes during the 2008–2009 Gaza war, the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, and the Gaza war. In December 2023, Professor Sufyan Tayeh, the university's president and a prominent scientist, was killed along with his family in an Israeli air strike on Jabalia refugee camp. The university is generally considered the top-ranked in the Gaza Strip. History Founding No universities or higher education institutions existed in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip until 1972. Before then, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We Are Not Numbers
We Are Not Numbers (WANN) is a project established in 2015 by Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor to provide English-language writing workshops for young Palestinians in Gaza. It provides each participant with six months of training and mentoring with experienced English writers, professional authors, reporters and communicators. The features, stories, news reports and social media content produced as part of the program have been featured by various media outlet, among them ''HuffPost'', '' Mondoweiss'', ''The New Arab'', ''Palestine Chronicle'' and '' +972 Magazine''. History WANN was launched in February 2015 to provide mentorship for young writers from Gaza on English-language content creation. The project originated in the personal mentorship by Euro-Med Monitor's Pam Bailey of a depressed Gazan youth, identified as Ahmed Alnaouq, who had lost a brother and close friends in an Israeli airstrike. Bailey encourage Alnaouq to write about his experiences, which he did. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaza War (2008–2009)
The Gaza War, also known as the First Gaza War, Operation Cast Lead (), or the Gaza Massacre (), and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan () by Hamas, Secondary source, Abdul-Hameed al-Kayyali, ''Studies on the Israeli Aggression on Gaza Strip: Cast Lead Operation / Al-Furqan Battle'', 2009 was a three-week armed conflict between Gaza Strip Palestinian paramilitary groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 with a unilateral ceasefire. The conflict resulted in 1,166–1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths. Over 46,000 homes were destroyed in Gaza, making more than 100,000 people homeless. A six month long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended on 4 November, when the IDF made a raid into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza to destroy a tunnel, killing several Hamas militants. Israel said the raid was a preemptive strike and Hamas intended to abduct further Israeli soldiers, while Hamas characterized it as a ceasefi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumud
Sumud (, meaning "steadfastness"Abed, 1988, p. 288. or "steadfast perseverance"; derived from the verb ''ṣamada'', meaning "arrange, adorn, lay up, save") is a Palestinian cultural value, ideological theme and political strategy that emerged in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War among the Palestinian people as a consequence of their oppression and the resistance it inspired.Nassar and Heacock, 1990, p. 28. People who exhibit ''ṣumūd'' are referred to as ''ṣamīdīn'', the singular forms of which are ''ṣamīd'' (m.) and ''ṣamīda'' (f.). As the term developed, Palestinians have distinguished between two main forms of sumud. The first, "static sumud", is more passive and is defined by Ibrahim Dhahak as the "maintenance of Palestinians on their land." The second, "resistance sumud" (), is a more dynamic ideology whose aim is to seek ways of building alternative institutions so as to resist and undermine the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The ultimate symbol associated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salih Altoma
Salih Jawad Altoma (; b. September 23, 1929) is an Iraqi poet, author, and professor emeritus of near eastern languages and cultures at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and an adjunct professor emeritus of comparative literature at Indiana University. Early life and education Altoma was born in Karbala in 1929 into the Tumah branch of the noble Al Faiz family that hold high status in Karbala. Altoma claims agnatic descent from Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh Shia Imam. His ancestors on some occasions ruled Karbala, and held custodianship of its holy sites. He grew up studying under a Shaykh Muhammad al-Sarraj al-Asadi, until the government invaded his class and took his students into the newly opened state schools. He studied at a Bab al-Taag primary school in Karbala, which later became the Sibt School. He concluded his primary and secondary studies in Karbala, and then went to earn his B.A from Baghdad University in 1952. In 1954, Altoma went to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
If We Must Die
"If We Must Die" is a poem by Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay (1890–1948) published in the July 1919 issue of '' The Liberator'' magazine. McKay wrote the poem in response to mob attacks by white Americans upon African-American communities during the Red Summer. The poem does not specifically reference any group of people, and has been used to represent many groups who are persecuted. It is considered one of McKay's most famous poems and was described by the poet Gwendolyn Brooks as one of the most famous poems of all time. Background During the Red Summer, from late summer to early autumn 1919, there was a wave of anti-black attacksat least twenty-five major "mob actions". In the attacks, hundreds of people were killed and thousands more were injured. James Weldon Johnson coined the term "Red Summer" to refer to the period. Claude McKay was born in Jamaica in 1889. He moved to the United States in 1912, and after attending several schools, settled in New York City ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Cox (actor)
Brian Denis Cox (born 1 June 1946) is a Scottish actor. A classically trained Shakespearean actor, he is known for his work on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as two nominations for a British Academy Television Award. In 2003, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire at the rank of Commander. Cox trained at the Dundee Repertory Theatre before becoming a founding member of Royal Lyceum Theatre. He went on to train as a Shakespearean actor, starring in numerous productions with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he gained recognition for his portrayal of King Lear. Cox received two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his roles in '' Rat in the Skull'' (1984), for Royal Court and '' Titus Andronicus'' (1988). He received two more Olivier Award nominations for '' Misalliance'' (1986) and ''Fashion'' (1988). Known as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palestinian Literature
Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians. Forming part of the broader genre of Arabic literature, contemporary Palestinian literature is often characterized by its heightened sense of irony and the exploration of existential themes and issues of identity. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile, loss, and love and longing for homeland are also common. Historical Origins Palestinian literature is one of numerous Arabic literatures, but its affiliation is national, rather than territorial. While Egyptian literature is that written in Egypt, Jordanian literature is that written in Jordan etc., and up until the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, Palestinian literature was also territory-bound, since the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight it has become "a literature written by Palestinians"Elad-Bouskila, Ami (1999). ''Modern Palestinian Literature and Culture''. London & Portland, OR, Frank Cass. ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
