On Land Day, Listen to the Land

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

On Land Day, Listen to the Land

Posted on 30/03/2011 by reham alhelsi

On Land Day, listen to the olive tree tell you about Palestine and her people.

Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people steadfast in their land, steadfast since the beginning of time, steadfast till the end of time. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a mother clinging to the land, clinging to an olive tree, holding tight to it, refusing to let go, refusing to let it be uprooted, become one with the olive tree, become one with the land. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a father planting an olive tree in memory of his martyred child murdered by aliens colonizing the land, destroying the land. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a child watering an olive tree, talking to her of his mother held captive in a dark dungeon by aliens who kill the sacred tree. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people who cherish the olive tree, to whom the olive tree is a son, a daughter, a father, a mother, a family member. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people who celebrate when an olive tree is born, a people who celebrate every day because they plant an olive tree every day. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people who cry blood when an olive tree is uprooted, destroyed or burned by the aliens colonizing the land. Listen to the olive tree tell you who planted her, watered her, cared for her, and to whom she is as precious as the land, as precious as life itself. Listen to the olive tree tell you the tales told by elderly to their grandchildren during the olive harvest, of the many wedding in the shadow of the olive tree, of the yearly celebration during the olive harvest. Listen to the olive tree tell you of the alien militias that come to destroy, uproot and burn thousand year old trees that were watered with blood and sweat of the owners of the lands, those who worked the land, those who loved the land and those who protect the land from the aliens. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people who stand steadfast in their land like the olive tree, stand tall in their land like the olive tree, stand as one in their land like the olive tree. Listen to the olive tree tell you of a people who have become one with the olive tree, whose roots go deep in the land, who have become one with the land.

On Land Day, listen to the poppy tell you about Palestine and her people.

Listen to the poppy tell you of a people steadfast in their land. Listen to the poppy celebrate the land every spring, celebrate the people of the land, kiss the land and sing songs of love. Listen to the poppy tell you of the heroes whose blood watered the land, whose blood painted the poppies on hilltops and along valleys, whose blood keeps the land alive. Listen to the poppy tell you that the heroes joined with the land shall never be forgotten, that they live forever in the land, they live forever as one with the land. Listen to the poppy tell you of the heroes who greet us every spring, remind us over and over that the land awaits us, that the land is bleeding and needs us. Listen to the poppy tell you of mothers collecting poppies, holding them gently, kissing them before placing them on the graves of their martyred children. Listen to the poppy tell you of children running up the hills, along the fields, searching for the poppies, collecting them and keeping them safe in their notebooks, beneath their pillows. Listen to the poppy tell you of parents tell their children of a flower that carries a people in its petals, carries a land in its heart. Listen to the poppy tell you of the sacred blood that waters the land, becomes one with the land and re-emerges in a flower. Listen to the poppy tell you of the red blood of a people sacrificing their lives to protect the land, of the black rage of a people refusing to be expelled from the land, of the green hands of a people working the land to make it flourish as it always was, of the white hearts of a people who love and revere the land. Listen to the poppy tell you of a flag, a flag that defies the aliens, defies the occupier, defies the colonizer, and rises high on every hilltop of a land that is thirsty for freedom.

On Land Day, listen to the orange tree tell you about Palestine and her people.

Listen to the orange tree tell you of a people steadfast in their land. Listen to the orange tree tell you of a land that was once a paradise until aliens came and who are since then slowly and painfully changing the paradise into a desert. Listen to the orange tree tell you of the wealth of the land, the many groves that were the pride of the land and her people. Listen to the orange tree tell you of a people who worked the land, loved the land and loved the orange tree, a people who were expelled and their precious orange groves occupied, ransacked and today presented as “proof” to the a Zionist lie that they “made the desert bloom”. Listen to orange tree tell you of the groves that were destroyed, the trees that were uprooted to build colonies for aliens who have no right to the land. Listen to the orange tree tell you of a people, the owners of the land, the owners of the orange groves, who were expelled from their homes in the middle of the night and under the rain of bullets, and took only the keys to their homes and a few oranges. Listen to the orange tree tell you of a people expelled from their villages and living in over-crowded refugee camps far away from home, far away from the land, far away from the orange trees. Listen to the orange tree tell you how they cry day and night, how they can still feel the oranges, how they can still smell the oranges mixed with the fresh breeze over Yafa. Listen to the orange tree tell you why she cries day and night, how she awaits the return of those who own the land.

On Land Day, listen to the ruins of the villages tell you about Palestine and her people.

Listen to the ruins of the villages tell you the story of a people that was one with the land, a people that was massacred and expelled by aliens. Listen to the ruins tell you of villages that once prospered, that once were filled with life. Listen to the ruins tell you of celebrations, of wedding, of the harvest all the year around. Listen to the ruins describe the celebrations and meals held in the village main square. Listen to the ruins describe the olive trees, the orange trees, the almond and the fig trees, the sea of wheat and barley. Listen to the ruins describe the taboun and of the smell of fresh bread early in the morning. Listen to the ruins describe the weddings that would last 7 days and nights. Listen to the ruins describe the beautiful houses with their round roofs and flower pots, with their herb gardens, with the apple trees and the carob trees. Listen to the ruins stand witness to the villages that once stood and await the return of their owners. Listen to the ruins stand witness to homes that were filled with love, homes that were inhabited by a people who gave life to these homes. Listen to the ruins stand witness to the land that loves it people, to the fields and groves, to the meadows and hilltops. Listen to the ruins of the villages that once stood tell you of a people that refuses to forget. Listen to the ruins of the villages tell you of a people that still hold the keys to their homes. Listen to the ruins of the villages tell you of a people that will accept no less than a full return of every single refugee, the replanting of every single tree, and the rebuilding of every single home, every single street, every single alley, every single barn, every single store. Listen to the ruins of the villages tell you of a people that will accept no less than freedom and total liberation. Listen to the ruins tell you of the graves and their inhabitants, tell you of the generations that lived on the land, loved the land and joined the land to become forever part of her. Listen to the ruins tell you the names of heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect the land, who gave their lives so the land might live, who watered the land with their blood so it might forever be green, white, red and black, so it might live forever, so it might remain Palestinian.

On Land Day, listen to the land say: Palestine is me and I am Palestine

Listen to the land tell you of a people that has chosen to stand up as one and resist the occupier. Listen to the land tell you of a people that is as generous as the land, as strong and constant as the land. Listen to the land tell of a people that is part of the land, that can endure much, and like the land, rises in rage to protect themselves from those trying to murder the land. Listen to the land tell you of the blood of the martyrs, of the rage of the oppressed, of the justice of the cause. Listen to the land tell you of the red, black, white and green flag, of the colour of the land raised high above every tree, every hilltop, every roof, raised above any other colour, raised above everything else. Listen to the land describe to you the almond flowers blossom under the blue sky, the many vineyards on the green hilltops, the wheat fields gold against the sunset. Listen to the land tell you of a people going early to plough the land, to harvest the fields, to water the trees. Listen to the land tell you tales of the fishermen riding the waves and diving into the blue waters. Listen to the land tell you tales of the beautiful houses, the ancient walls, the narrow alleys, the green walkways. Listen to the land tell you of the children climbing trees, running through the fields, playing with the butterflies, watching the rainbow over the sky of Jerusalem. Listen to the land tell you of proud beautiful women in traditional dresses in the colour of the land, sitting at the water well, laughing, singing of the heroes of the land. Listen to the land tell you of the men and women, of the children, the youth and the elderly, who have a will of steel, a power of determination, a love of the land that has no equal and no limit. Listen to the land tell you of a people, young and old, men and women, stand as one and defy oppression, seek freedom, choose resistance over submission. Listen to the land tell everyone that it matters who the land belongs to, that the land belongs to the people who cherish the land more than their own lives.

On Land Day, listen to Palestine.

Listen to Palestine tell you about a people steadfast in their land. Listen to Palestine tell you of a people carrying the keys to their homes in their hearts. Listen to Palestine tell you of young people dancing the dabkeh in Yafa, Haifa, and Bethlehem, joining hands from Jerusalem to Bisan and singing of Gaza and Al-Jalil. Listen to Palestine tell you of a people determined to resist the occupier, never to tire, never to rest, never to give up, never to allow the flame of resistance to fade, always to keep it burning until total liberation. On Land Day, listen to Palestine tell you of land that was and forever will be Palestinian from the River to the Sea and from Ras In-Naqoura to Im Ir-Rishrash. On Land Day listen to Jerusalem tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Yafa tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Bethlehem tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Haifa tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Gaza tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Acca tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Nablus tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Nazareth tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Deir Al-Balah tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Um Il-Fahim tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Jenin tell you: I am Palestinian.

Listen to Tarshiha tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Ramallah tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Beir Is-Sabi’ tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Hebron tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Bisan tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Rafah tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Arraba tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Tulkarim tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Safad tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Qalqilia tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Al-Lyd tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Jericho tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Ar-Ramleh tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Salfit tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Sakhnin tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Khan Younis tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Tabaria tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Toubas tell you: I am Palestinian. Listen to Kufr Kanna tell you: I am Palestinian.

On Land Day, listen to every inch of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea tell the whole world: This land is Palestine.