Poem: A Peaceful Protest
Mohammed Ayoub (14) was shot dead by Israeli forces in April 2018 during Gaza's Great March of Return. According to Palestinian medical sources, Ayoub was standing with a group of protestors roughly 100-150 metres from the blockade perimeter when he was killed.
According to the UN, over 270 Palestinians were killed and 36,143 injured (over 8,800 children and over 7,000 with live ammunition) by Israeli forces between March 2018-December 2019. Palestinian poet Ahmad Abu Artema, whose vision inspired the protest, described it as a "Scream for Life" from the 2.2 million Palestinians living under siege in Gaza.
A few weeks ago when I was touring in Northern Italy, an IDF sniper killed Muhamad Ayub who was 14-years-old and peacefully protesting. I wrote this then:
A Peaceful Protest
Bologna, Sunday April 22nd 2018
Muhamad Ayub
The birds have stopped singing
A bell tolls
I could sit here, and wither and die
In this beauty.
Yesterday,
On the train from Milan
I looked out over the Lombardy plain
Small farms, ordinary lives, peace.
I imagined dead olive trees and rubble.
On Friday Muhamad was fourteen
Now he is gone.
We cross a river
The massacre grinds on
I’d like to meet the man
Who taught the boy
Who pulled the trigger
His callous disregard.
I would spit on him and
Do no good
The birds have stopped singing
The bell tolls on.
