The Palestinian woman, the future of Palestine
To all Palestinian women fighting against the occupation
and who would like to have a place in Palestinian society,
to our women who celebrate 8 March
with tears, blood and resistance, but above all with hope.
In you was our knowledge born.
In you all our hope sings.
Our future is built by you.
Because of you we defy fear.
You are the Palestinian woman.
You teach us the history of our land,
its past and present.
You make the future generation grow.
You fight against despair.
You campaign for our values.
You are the Palestinian woman.
You make us forget pain.
You invite us to envisage better days.
You encourage us to defend ourselves
against the occupiers and dark nights.
You are the Palestinian woman.
You are the mother of our martyrs.
You heal our wounds.
You are the abundance of our land
because you give love above all other things.
You are the Palestinian woman.
With you we do not think about war,
but about peace.
You give us lessons in courage.
You teach us to cherish hope.
You offer Palestine heroes.
You demonstrate against the occupiers,
against the oppressors.
You are the Palestinian woman.
You still believe in the future.
You defy silence with your smile.
You seek happiness for us.
You are the memory of our people.
You are the Palestinian woman.
Despite your weariness, you will continue
to hold back your tears,
because you are the angel of our history.
And you will dwell in our hearts.
You are the Palestinian woman.
You teach us tolerance and hope.
Your power is immense.
You oppose all walls
in a great Palestine of grandeur.
You are the Palestinian woman.
I offer you a flower,
immortal like you.
A flower planted in your land,
the land of our forefathers,
the land of our memories,
the land of our Palestinian women.
You are that flower.
Like it, you are hardy, well-rooted in your land,
just as our hope is.
You are our value.
You are our future.
You are our glory.
You are our peace and our love.
You are hope made woman.
Oh, Palestinian woman.
Ziad Medoukh, Gazan poet (poem written in tragic times less desperate than today’s)
Translated by Sarah J. Turtle