Bertolt Brecht provided an answer in his poem ‘The Interrogation of the Good’: Step forward: we hear that you are a good man. You cannot be bought, but the lightning which strikes the house, also cannot be bought. You hold to what you said. But what did you say? You are honest, you say your opinion. Which opinion? You are brave. Against whom? You are … Continue reading To those capitalists “good doers”
Tomorrow is the UN bid to vote on a Palestinian state. The question that first comes to mind is what kind of a Palestinian state would it be? The second question that emerges is what about the millions refugees? In Lebanon the refugees are scattered in 12 camps across the country. The camps in Lebanon are places inadequate for a healthy life: shanty towns with inhumane conditions. It is the exact same small piece of land that … Continue reading The Palestinian refugees will not be left behind
Last week marked the anniversary of the 1982 massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The Lebanese Phalangist milita murdered and injured thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians while the camp was surrounded by the Israeli army. An upcoming vote on an independent Palestinian state at the United Nations is said to be motivated by the wish to prevent such an atrocity from ever occurring … Continue reading Palestinian refugees in Lebanon eye statehood bid with skepticism
كي لا ننسى… …فتحت تغطية من دبابات ميركافا، التي كانت طوقت المخيمات ظهر يوم الاربعاء 15 أيلول 1982, تسللت الى أزقتها عدة وحدات – وكل وحدة تتألف من عشرة أفراد – من القوات الخاصة التابعة لسرايا الاستطلاع في الجيش الاسرائيلي, وهي ترتدي لباس القتال، ولكن بدون أية شارات تنم عن هويتها. ولم يعرف من جميع هؤلاء “القتلة” سوى اسم عنصر واحد، هو الرقيب بني حاييم … Continue reading Sabra and Shatila massacre
Sitting in my West Beirut office at the end of July, pondering the Syrian revolution and the conflicting reports from state media and activists on the ground, I decided I ought to visit. For three days I travelled around Damascus, visiting the suburbs reported to be places of protest — they were hard to miss given the army deployment in these areas — but I … Continue reading Trailing the truth in Syria
Words Of Action كلمات الفعل 