Palestinians bury poet Darwish in West Bank

Palestinians bury poet Darwish in West Bank

Friday, 08.15.2008, 11:38am

Palestinians bade an emotional farewell on Wednesday to their national poet Mahmoud Darwish, who was laid to rest on a hilltop overlooking the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Darwish died Saturday in Houston at age 67 after complications from open-heart surgery.

He was the first Palestinian to receive a state funeral since Yasser Arafat in 2004.

Darwish's body was flown Wednesday from Jordan to Ramallah, where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas received the flag-draped coffin.

Widely revered for giving voice to the Palestinians’ desire for independent statehood and their longing for the lands they lost to Israel, Darwish was seen off at his funeral by tens of thousands of political and cultural elite as well as ordinary Palestinians, who moved in a procession from a formal honor guard in the presidential compound to jostling crowds around his hillside gravesite.

"He was the master of the word and wisdom, the symbol who expressed our national feeling, our human constitution, our declaration of independence," said Abbas in a speech.

Darwish was born in the village of Birweh, which was razed in the wake of the 1948 Israeli-Arab war.

He spent years in exile in Cairo, Beirut, Paris and the US after being stripped of his Israeli-Arab citizenship for being active in the Israeli Communist Party and the Palestine Liberation Organization as a young man.

He returned to Palestine when Israel gave him permission in the late 1990s — even then only to the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Darwish famously penned Arafat's speech to the United Nations in 1974 when the late Palestinian leader said, "I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."

He also wrote the largely symbolic 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence.

His work resonated across political and generational lines for his ability to express the Palestinian sense of loss, anger and defiance.

In later years, he became increasingly frustrated at the in-fighting between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. Last year he condemned the explosion of violence between the two groups in Gaza as "a public attempt at suicide in the streets."

IN MEMORIAM

I Come From There

I come from there and I have memories

Born as mortals are, I have a mother

And a house with many windows,

I have brothers, friends,

And a prison cell with a cold window.

Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,

I have my own view,

And an extra blade of grass.

Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,

And the bounty of birds,

And the immortal olive tree.

I walked this land before the swords

Turned its living body into a laden table.

I come from there. I render the sky unto her mother

When the sky weeps for her mother.

And I weep to make myself known

To a returning cloud.

I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood

So that I could break the rule.

I learnt all the words and broke them up

To make a single word: Homeland.....

My Mother

I long for my mother's bread

My mother's coffee

Her touch

Childhood memories grow up in me

Day after day

I must be worth my life

At the hour of my death

Worth the tears of my mother.

And if I come back one day

Take me as a veil to your eyelashes

Cover my bones with the grass

Blessed by your footsteps

Bind us together

With a lock of your hair

With a thread that trails from the back of your dress

I might become immortal

Become a God

If I touch the depths of your heart.

If I come back

Use me as wood to feed your fire

As the clothesline on the roof of your house

Without your blessing

I am too weak to stand.

I am old

Give me back the star maps of childhood

So that I

Along with the swallows

Can chart the path

Back to your waiting nest.

from: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Palestine&article=1363&page_order=1&act=print

Image via Wikipedia

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-darwish14-2008aug14,0,5814485.story

From the Los Angeles Times

Palestinian poet and icon Darwish buried

More than 5,000 mourners attend the funeral in the West Bank for the poet revered for mirroring the Palestinian national experience.

By Ashraf Khalil
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 14, 2008

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — During the six years he spent in an Israeli prison, Haidar Jaradat read one poem over and over: "My Mother," by Mahmoud Darwish.

"I long for my mother's bread," it begins. "My mother's coffee/Her touch."

"It brought me comfort and I thought about it a lot," said Jaradat, who was 16 when he was imprisoned by the Israelis over what he terms "a security issue."

Jaradat, now 24, recalled the solace Darwish's words had offered him as he waited Wednesday outside Ramallah's Palace of Culture for the coffin bearing the body of the Palestinian icon.

Amid pomp and circumstance just short of Yasser Arafat's 2004 state funeral, more than 5,000 mourners braved the midday August heat here to pay their respects to Darwish, the revered poet who died Saturday in Houston at age 67 following complications from open heart surgery.

Darwish's body was flown Wednesday from Jordan to Ramallah, where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas received the flag-draped coffin.

"He was the master of the word and wisdom, the symbol who expressed our national feeling, our human constitution, our declaration of independence," Abbas said in a speech.

After eulogies at the Palestinian Authority's headquarters, a procession of thousands moved across town to the Palace of Culture, where thousands more waited near Darwish's burial plot.

"We loved him. He was a poet and true Palestinian patriot," said Abdel Rahman Zabin, a 50-year-old laborer.

Zabin said he and many other Palestinians identified so strongly with Darwish because the poet's life experiences, which he wrote about directly, mirrored much of the hardships of his people. His work resonated across political and generational lines for his ability to express the Palestinian sense of loss, anger and defiance.

Darwish's family fled their home village when Israel was founded in 1948, then later returned and settled as part of the Arab minority in the new Jewish state. His poem "Identity Card" recounted the frustrations of that minority status.

A communist activist in his youth, Darwish was repeatedly imprisoned by Israel before leaving the country in 1970.

His exile included time in Beirut, where he lived through the 1982 Israeli siege of the Lebanese capital -- an experience that inspired him to write "Ode to Beirut."

"He lived the whole Palestinian life from 1948 until now," Zabin said.

The crowd that flocked to attend Darwish's burial reflected the broad range of his appeal: The Palestinian political elite mingled with Communists who claim Darwish as one of their own and young hipsters wearing T-shirts bearing the poet's image.

Shirina Rantisi, a 19-year-old college sophomore, said the poet's status made him a kind of Palestinian Che Guevara: "He meant something to almost everyone."

ashraf.khalil@latimes.com

Organizers: Beijing Olympic Village offers good religious service

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BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing Olympics official said here Friday that since the Olympic Village opened on July 27, its religious service center had received 665 athletes and officials from more than 50 countries and regions.

Deng Yaping, deputy director of Olympic Village Department and spokeswoman for the Olympic Village, said at a press conference that 69 professional religious service volunteers at the center had provided around-the-clock services to villagers in English, Arabic, Italian, French, Korean and Hebrew.

On Aug. 3, a foreigner came to the center to ask for a prayer ceremony for his mother who had died a few days ago. A priest prayed for the man.

Deng said that on the following Sunday, the priest asked all the people who had come for praying to stand and pray again for the man's mother. The visitor said he left the center with peace of mind and was greatly moved by the love and concern he received by the people from different countries.

Deng said the village provides services in five religions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hindu and Judaism. Bibles are displayed in the religious service center and athletes can use them free.

She also briefed journalists on other services and environmental protection measures in the Village.

She said the main dining hall for athletes served the largest number of guests in Olympic history on Aug. 8 when the Games opened. From noon to 5:00 p.m., 18,634 people dined there, far exceeding the comparable figure of 9,876 at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 10,515 in Athens in 2004.

The Beijing Olympic Village received the largest number of worldwide dignitaries in Olympic history. The number far exceeded expectations. By Aug. 14, a total of 62 heads of state, government and royals and leaders of international organizations paid visits to the Olympic Village.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and his predecessor Juan Antonio Samaranch also visited the Village, Deng disclosed. Rogge lived in the village for three days from Aug. 10 to 12.

The Olympic Village has done "the best job in environmental protection in the history of the Olympic Games," Deng said.

The village uses the most advanced biotechnology system to treat six tonnes of kitchen waste daily. Hot water is supplied via the 6,000 square meters of centralized solar water heating system.

from:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/15/content_9343081.htm

Arab film-maker Youssef Chahine dies at 82

Arab film-maker Youssef Chahine dies at 82

BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Youssef Chahine, the Arab world's greatest filmmaker and recipient of the 50th annual lifetime achievement award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, died Sunday in his home in Cairo aged 82 after several weeks in a coma. "Youssef Chahine died this morning at 3:30," said his friend and fellow director Khaled Yussef, who co-directed Chahine's latest film "Chaos" in 2007. Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine is seen in this undated file photo. Chahine, a leading light of Egyptian cinema for more than half a century, died in Cairo on Sunday at the age of 82 after six weeks in a coma, his office said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> A funeral ceremony will be held in Cairo on Monday, Yussef said, before Chahine is buried in the family crypt in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria where he was born, Egypt's official MENA news agency said. Chahine never shied away from controversy during his long career, criticizing U.S. foreign policy as well as Egypt and the Arab world. Born in 1926 in Alexandria into a Christian family, Chahine attended prestigious Victoria College, the alma mater of many Arab and Egyptian intellectuals who made major contributions to 20th century Arab culture. After spending one year at the University of Alexandria, he went to America to study drama at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Back in Egypt, he turned his talents to directing and made a series of films which established his reputation as a serious figure in the country's 20-year-old film industry. Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine is seen in this undated file photo. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Upon the release of his fourth film, "Nile Boy" (1951) he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival. "Raging Sky" (1953), shot when King Farouk was still on the throne, dealt with the challenge mounted by a simple farmer to his feudal landlord, establishing Chahine as independent-minded and ready to challenge authority. He was credited with discovering Omar Sharif, who starred in "The Blazing Sun," released in 1954, and became the first Arab actor to rise to stardom in Hollywood. In his classic, "Cairo Station," Chahine played the lead, a newspaper seller at the railway station who had a fatal fixation for a woman who sold lemonade. Conservative Egyptians hated the film and it was put on the shelf for 20 years. Chanine won a Silver Bear at Berlin in 1978 for his "Alexandria ... Why?" the first of four autobiographic films. The sequence, completed in 2004, provides a picture of the ancient city as a great cosmopolitan centre. During his long career, he made more than 40 films. The last, "This is Chaos," was premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2007. (Agencies) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/28/content_8786319.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obamatrip23-2008jul23,0,4668191.story

From the Los Angeles Times

Obama turns focus from war to peace

After visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Democratic presidential candidate plans to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

By Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 23, 2008

AMMAN, JORDAN — After visits to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barack Obama shifted his focus to Mideast peace efforts Tuesday as he arrived in the region for two days of talks with leaders in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The all-but-sure Democratic nominee for president vowed to work "from the minute I'm sworn in to office to try to find some breakthroughs" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I think it's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," Obama said shortly after his arrival in Jordan under tight security. "What a U.S. president can do is apply sustained energy and focus on the issues of the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Obama spoke in a dramatic setting, the ancient ruins atop Citadel Hill, or Jebel al Quala, near the towering pillars of the Temple of Hercules. Across the valley behind him, thousands of concrete dwellings were visible, terraced across the steep hillsides of Amman, the capital. Soldiers with heavy weaponry patrolled the roasting hilltop as dust clouds swirled around Obama's lectern.

Obama's nine-day trip abroad is aimed at building voter confidence in his ability to handle foreign affairs at a time when Republican rival John McCain is portraying him as naive and unfit to protect the nation's security.

Campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday, McCain mocked the first-term Illinois senator for making "his first trip to Afghanistan ever" in recent days and getting his "first briefing ever" from Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq.

Today, Obama plans to visit the southern Israeli town of Sderot, a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. He will also spend time in Jerusalem at Yad Vashem, a memorial to Holocaust victims.

Obama flew from Amman to Tel Aviv on Tuesday night.

He arrived in Jordan after wrapping up his Iraq visit on Tuesday morning with a stop in Ramadi, once a breeding ground of the Sunni Arab insurgency. He met for three hours with tribal leaders who voiced concern, he said, that a "precipitous" withdrawal could lead to new violence.

"I have proposed a steady, deliberate drawdown over the course of 16 months, and I emphasized that to them," Obama said.

Obama said Petraeus, who met with him Monday, made clear that he "does not want a timetable" for a U.S. pullout. But Obama renewed his call for a gradual withdrawal of troops, saying the U.S. needs to shift forces to Afghanistan to fight resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda forces planning terrorist attacks.

Unlike a commander in chief, Obama said, Petraeus does not need to think about how some of the $10 billion spent by the U.S. on the Iraq war each month could be used "to shore up a U.S. economy that is really hurting right now."

Even as he left the combat zones of Iraq behind, an attack Tuesday morning near the Jerusalem hotel where Obama planned to stay illustrated the enduring violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Palestinian man rammed a construction vehicle into a city bus and four vehicles, injuring six people before an Israeli civilian and border policeman shot and killed him.

Obama called the attack "a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long." Terrorism makes Israelis "want to dig in and simply think about their own security, regardless of what's going on beyond their borders," he said.

At the same time, Palestinians get frustrated when "they can't get to their job or they can't make a living" on the West Bank or in Gaza, he added. "It's hard for them, if they see no glimmer of hope, to then want to take that leap in order to make concessions."

Obama's calibration of the balance between Israeli and Palestinian interests showed the delicate task he faces in weighing the impact of his Mideast trip back home -- particularly on Jewish voters.

He is scheduled to meet today with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

He also plans to confer in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

In Jordan, Obama met privately with King Abdullah II at Beit al Urdun palace. Afterward, they joined Queen Rania and invited guests for dinner. Abdullah drove Obama to the airport in his Mercedes 600, dropping him off on the tarmac. Jordanian soldiers wearing red-pattern kaffiyehs saluted Obama as he headed up the stairs of the plane.

The king, who cut short a visit to the United States to greet Obama, released a statement saying he told Obama "that ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and achieving a just settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict tops the priorities of the people of the Middle East."

michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Times staff writer Maeve Reston contributed to this report.

British soldier dies in Afghanistan

Published: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 12:14PM

A British soldier has been killed after coming under enemy fire in southern Afghanistan.

The soldier was serving with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment.

He died when the vehicle he was travelling in hit an explosive device after a skirmish with Taliban fighters.

Two other soldiers from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment were injured in the same incident, one in a landmine blast during an exchange with the enemy.

The fatality occurred after the skirmish when the soldiers were leaving the area and their vehicle was hit by a second explosion.

The soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers died at the scene.

The soldiers' next of kin have been informed and have requested a 24-hour period of grace before further details are released.

International Security Assistance Force spokesman Captain Mike Finney said: "Our hearts and minds are with the family and loved ones of this fine soldier.

"This soldier died honourably, helping bring security to Afghanistan."

The death announced today by the Ministry of Defence is the first British fatality in the country this month.

A total of 13 died last month, the worst loss of life for British troops since September 2006 when 19 servicemen died - 14 when a Nimrod MR2 aircraft crashed.

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