Mohammed,nestles in the bosom of his father, a bird afraidof the infernal sky: father protect mefrom the upward flight! My wing isslight for the wind … and the light is black
Mohammed,wants to return home, with nobicycle ... or new shirtyearns for the school bench …
the notebook of grammar and conjugation, take meto our home, father, to prepare for my lessonsto continue being, little by little …
on the seashore, under the palms …and nothing further, nothing further
Mohammed,faces an army, with no stone or shrapnelof stars, does not notice the wall to write: my freedomwill not die, for he has no freedom yet
to defend. No perspective for the dove of PabloPicasso. He continues to be born, continuesto be born in a name bearing him the curse of the name. Howmany times will his self give birth to a child
with no home ... with no time for childhood?Where will he dream if the dream would come …and land is a wound ... and a temple?
Mohammed,sees his inescapable death approaching. But thenremembers, a leopard he has seen on the tv screen,a fierce one besieging a suckling fawn. When itcame near and smelt the milk, it would not pounce.
As if the milk tames the wild beast.Hence, I will survive - says the boy -and weeps: for my life is there hiddenin my mother's chest. I will survive ... and witness
Mohammed,a destitute angel, within a stone's throw fromthe gun of his cold blooded hunter. Foran hour the camera traces the movements of the boywho is merging with his shadow:
his face, clear, like dawnhis heart, clear, like an applehis ten fingers, clear, like candlesthe dew clear on his trousers …His hunter could have reflected
twice, and say: I will spare him till when he spellshis Palestine without mistakes ...I will spare him now subject to my conscienceand kill him the day he rebels!
Mohammed,an infant Jesus, sleeps and dreams inthe heart of an iconmade of copperan olive branchand the soul of a people renewed
Mohammed,blood beyond the need of the prophetsfor what they seek, so ascendto the Ultimate Tree
Mohamed !
Translated into English by Amr Khadr
* Muhammed al-Durrah was a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israeli gunfire on September 30, 2000 at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. A French television crew (France 2) near Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip filmed the boy clutching his father as his father tried to shield him from bullets. Broadcast around the world, this event caused outrage against Israel. His death has become a symbol of freedom and the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation
