Epicenter,
olive-oil,
excellence,
iconic crop,
horticulture,
humble tree,
human fabric
-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
And we’re human too,
please acknowledge that..
acknowledge us..
“Our traditions, culture, poems and songs are often centered around the tree.”
- Nabil Anani
Nothing less than free,
dream for our people 🙏
The Second Olive Tree
The olive tree does not weep and does not laugh. The olive tree
Is the hillside’s modest lady. Shadow
Covers her single leg, and she will not take her leaves off in front of the storm.
Standing, she is seated, and seated, standing.
She lives as a friendly sister of eternity, neighbor of time
That helps her stock her luminous oil and
Forget the invaders’ names, except the Romans, who
Coexisted with her, and borrowed some of her branches
To weave wreaths. They did not treat her as a prisoner of war
But as a venerable grandmother, before whose calm dignity
Swords shatter. In her reticent silver-green
Color hesitates to say what it thinks, and to look at what is behind
The portrait, for the olive tree is neither green nor silver.
The olive tree is the color of peace, if peace needed
A color. No one says to the olive tree: How beautiful you are!
But: How noble and how splendid! And she,
She who teaches soldiers to lay down their rifles
And re-educates them in tenderness and humility: Go home
And light your lamps with my oil! But
These soldiers, these modern soldiers
Besiege her with bulldozers and uproot her from her lineage
Of earth. They vanquished our grandmother who foundered,
Her branches on the ground, her roots in the sky.
She did not weep or cry out. But one of her grandsons
Who witnessed the execution threw a stone
At a soldier, and he was martyred with her.
After the victorious soldiers
Had gone on their way, we buried him there, in that deep
Pit – the grandmother’s cradle. And that is why we were
Sure that he would become, in a little while, an olive
Tree – a thorny olive tree – and green!
Roots entire nation,
land and livelihood,
mostly lost now,
ongoing,
illegal,
Israeli,
occupation
Thick taproot,
hardy root,
flute of fruit,
a suit shoots,
brute implant,
loot lush olive,
and liquid gold
1,410 families have been completely wiped out
3,463 families have been left with only one survivor
2,287 families have lost members, but have multiple survivors
Seasonal peak,
violence and vandalism,
Israeli settlers,
settlements and outposts,
the West Bank,
farmers and property,
leading up..
(and also during)
harvest season,
October and November
🎥 Israeli soldiers film themselves celebrating destruction of Lebanese village | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
Al Jazeera English | Oct 16, 2024
Israeli forces detonated a massive amount of explosives in the Lebanese village of Mhaibib, saying they were targeting underground Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure.” Israeli soldiers recorded themselves celebrating the village’s apparent destruction with smiles and laughter.
Only certainty..
stress-test,
green-light,
speedy-missile,
tomorrow always,
proves, worse,
politically,
calculated,
transmuted,
(our) future,
generation
We don’t fit,
your Western standards,
colonial, expectation,
clinging, bleeding roots,
reaching for skies,
above your rockets and bombs,
our buried treasure,
nothing hurts them anymore..
Maysa Yousef lost both her home and workshop in Gaza, but she continues, to paint amidst the rubble.
And in other Palestinian artists I learnt today, I share Nabil Anani and his work featured at Zawyeh Gallery (dedicated to supporting Palestinian and Middle Eastern artists) based in Ramallah and Dubai (I fly to latter tomorrow morning 🫡)









It almost seems that the UN made these days for Palestine, and all that's being destroyed.
The poem for the olive tree was beautiful, as was the art.
Safe travels, and I hope you have an enjoyable time while away, Najwan.
All best wishes.♥️