My Dear Dad Wrote...

After the devastating Arab defeat in the six-day war in June 1967, the late famous Nizzar Qabbani addressed, in one of his poems, the Arab children and asked them to redeem the “ Arab Nation “, and make it victorious in it’s coming battles. But, do you know who were among those children at that time?? Osama Bin Laden was 10 years old, Hassan Nasr Allah was 6 years old, Bashar Al-Assad was one year old and Moqtada Al-Sadder was not even born, in that year of Arab defeat.

Considering the death, misery and destruction of the last Lebanon war, which lasted for five weeks, and the results of September 11, 2001 and all the difficulties facing Iraq now, one may wonder whether Nizzar Qabbani foresaw the fate of the Arab Nation. One may also ponder if Nizzar expected those children to lead the nation under fanatical Islamic ideologies or whether he thought that they will lead toward modernization and secular rules.

Last but not least, Nizzar was famous for his advocation of women liberation and emancipation; did he think how some of those children treat women now, when they reached the forties and fifties of their age??

يا أيها الأطفال
من المحيط إلى الخليج، انتم سنابل الآمال
وأنتم الجيل الذي سيكسر الأغلال
ويقتل الأفيون في رؤوسنا
ويقتل الخيال
يا أيها الأطفال، أنتم بعد طيبون
وطاهرون كالندى والثلج طاهرون
لا تقرأوا عن جيلنا المهزوم يا أطفال
فنحن خائبون
ونحن مثل قشرة البطيخ تافهون
ونحن منخورون، منخورون.. كالنعال
لا تقرأوا أخبارنا
لا تقتفوا آثارنا
لا تقبلوا أفكارنا
فنحن جيل القيء والزهري والسعال
ونحن جيل الدجل، والرقص على الحبال
يا أيها الأطفال
يا مطر الربيع يا سنابل الآمال
أنتم بذور الخصب في حياتنا العقيمة
وأنتم الجيل الذي سيهزم الهزيمة

نزار قباني