"A Grin Behind the Tears" - Remi Kanazi

Remi Kanazi is an Palestinian-American performance poet and human rights activist based in New York City. Born 1981 in United States of America. He published "Poetic Injustice: writings on resistance and Palestine" a book that illustrate the struggle of Palestinian people enduring the Israeli occupation.

In his new book "Before the Next Bomb Drops", Kanazi wrote "A Grin Behind the Tears", a poem expressed by Samir, a young Palestinian who has experienced the brutality of occupation. it goes like this:

"No matter how tight Israel thinks its grip is

the bullets, the bombs, the checkpoints

the UN vetoes, the congressional applauding

these children are more powerful than F-16s

more assured than U.S. military aid

they will climb walls, skirt roadblocks, dodge teargas

they will unravel injustice by their very existence

in every breath they take, every wedding that's held

every newborn they bring into this world, they know it

Zionists know it, the occupation's days are numbered"

Maybe it is a wishful thinking, coming from oppressed and angry people, who have no hope, no future, just the divine inspiration that the injustice inflected upon them, will be lifted one day, or maybe not. It is the resistance and the persistence of Palestinian People who kept the cause alive. Heroic actions taken by Palestinian youth, elders, women and children are filmed on daily bases, accompanied by tremendous brutality shown by Israeli settlers. meanwhile, the official Silence of the Arab nations is more haunting than the grenades and the bullets of the monstrous enemy, more damaging to the possibilities and hope of the Palestinian people than the whole of the Israeli army. A sellout, that's what they are, that's what they've always been.

In this occasion i remember a description for Oswaldo De Rivero and a quote for Desmond Tutu. the description depict the actual situation in the west bank and its root cause. the quote call out for every free man and woman to think deeply about what is happening and raise the voice. silence is a devil.

"The law of the jungle cannot continue to be applied among men without serious consequences for the whole community. Our genes, which are programmed for survival in society, begin to protest that we are being excluded, that our family or social group is in danger. Then, when we reach that stage, we too dehumanize our predators, resorting to irrational and violent actions against them, as though they were a different species. When certain limits of human depredation are passed, everyone is the loser, including the predators, and the result is massive social and political turmoil" -Oswaldo De Rivero

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." - Desmond Tutu