Our Visitors

They come … They go
If they will be back
We don’t know

They brought us books
In which to read
The reason why
Is the brain to feed?

We don’t have brains
They surely realized
Long time ago
Ours were paralyzed.

To think is human
But are we?
The world thinks we are not
As you can see.

To study, to learn
We are hardly allowed
Our living to earn
Is forbidden, no doubt

To be carpenters, bakers or painters
Is what we can aim for
Our future is black
It is for sure.

We like to play
We don’t have yards
We need a zoo
But we also need you.

We don’t need visitors
Who come and go
We need friends
With whom to grow

We do need books
In which to read
But we also need friends
With whom to speak.

They left the books
And “they go”
Our hearts they took
But they don’t know.

Are they coming back?
We don’t think so.

Walid Balkis/Mohammad Daoud/Ussama Abu al-Sheikh/Ismail Zaarour/Jihad Abdel-Halim/Rania
Shaaban/Samar Shaaban/Mariam Azzouka/Mohammad Mosleh/Marwan Bisher/Ahmad Abu Shalha/Samar Kuwayder/Mahmoud/Wissam al-Ahmad/Khoder Attiyeh/Mohammad Merhi/Kheir
al-Hotta/Bissan al-Asfar.

Shatila Camp
12-20 March 1998

[*This poem was written in response to a visit by a foreign delegation in Shatila camp by the above group of 16-17 year old youth in conjunction with their English teacher Maysoun Sukarieh/Beit Atfal al-Sumoud. It is published here with the kind permission of the authors.]