Mahmoud Darwish: Think of Others

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The Red Sea. Guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke launches a Tomahawk cruise missile, as the US and allied forces began air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syrian territory: photo by Carlos M. Vazquez/US Navy/EPA via The Guardian, 23 September 2014

Mahmoud Darwish: Think of Others … فكِّر بغيركَ

As you prepare your breakfast, think of others. Don’t forget to feed the pigeons. As you conduct your wars, think of others. Don’t forget those who want peace. As you pay your water bill, think of others. Think of those who only have clouds to drink from. As you go home, your own home, think of others don’t forget those who live in tents. As you sleep and count the planets, think of others there are people who have no place to sleep. As you liberate yourself with metaphors think of others those who have lost their right to speak. And as you think of distant others think of yourself and say “I wish I were a candle in the darkness.”

وأنتَ تُعِدُّ فطورك، فكِّر بغيركَ لا تَنْسَ قوتَ الحمام وأنتَ تخوضُ حروبكَ، فكِّر بغيركَ لا تنس مَنْ يطلبون السلام وأنتَ تسدد فاتورةَ الماء، فكِّر بغيركَ مَنْ يرضَعُون الغمامٍ وأنتَ تعودُ إلى البيت، بيتكَ، فكِّر بغيركَ لا تنس شعب الخيامْ وأنت تنام وتُحصي الكواكبَ، فكِّر بغيركَ ثمّةَ مَنْ لم يجد حيّزاً للمنام وأنت تحرّر نفسك بالاستعارات، فكِّر بغيركَ مَنْ فقدوا حقَّهم في الكلام وأنت تفكر بالآخرين البعيدين، فكِّر بنفسك قُلْ: ليتني شمعةُ في الظلام

Mahmoud Darwish (13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008): Think of Others, 2005: translation via TheSemiClassicalLimit, 10 August 2012

Suruc, Turkey. Thousands of Syrian refugees, mostly tired and devastated, enter Turkey at Yumurtalik crossing gate. Over 200,000 people fleeing the Islamic State militant advance on Kobani, Syria have arrived in the last four days: photo by Burhan Ozbilici/AP via The Guardian, 24 September 2014

Sanliurfa, Turkey. A Kurdish woman runs away from a water cannon near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the border near Suruc: photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian, 22 September 2014

Suruc, Turkey. Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences near the southeastern town of Suruc: photo by Stringer/Turkey/Reuters via The Guardian 17 September 2014

Mahmoud Darwish: Think of Others … فكِّر بغيركَ

while preparing your breakfast,
think of others
don’t forget the aliment of the doves

and while you are going to war,
think of others
don’t forget those seeking peace

and as you pay your water bill,
think of others
those who drink the clouds

and while you are returning home,
your home,
think of others 
don’t forget the people of the tents

and as you sleep and count the stars,
think of others 
those who don’t have a space to sleep

and as you liberate yourself with metaphors,
think of others
those who have lost their rights to speak

 
and while you are thinking of others far away,
think of yourself
and say: I wish I was a candle in the dark

Mahmoud Darwish (13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008): Think of Others, 2005: translation by Fayeq Oweis via oweis, 8 September 2010

New Delhi, India. A homeless man takes a morning bath in the old city area: photo by Bernat Armangue/AP via The Guardian, 22 September 2014

Marikina city, Philippines. Residents wade through floodwater brought by Typhoon Fung-Wong. The tropical storm has triggered widespread floods in and around the Philippine capital: photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA  via The Guardian, 19 September 2014

Manila, Philippines. A boy stands in a window overlooking burnt houses following a fire near the international airport in Pasay city. Over a hundred families were left homeless after a blaze that destroyed shanties: photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA via the Guardian, 16 September 2014

Lagos, Nigeria. Muslim women on route to Mecca undergo health checks for the ebola virus at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos: photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via The Guardian 17 September 2014

Islamabad, Pakistan. A displaced teenager sleeps outdoors to escape the heat in his home: photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP via The Guardian, 22 September 2014

Mahmoud Darwish: Think upon Others

قصيدة محمود درويش

فكّر بغيرك

وأنت تُعدُّ فطورك، فكر بغيركَ
لا تَنْسَ قوتَ الحمام
وأنتَ تخوضُ حروبكَ، فكَر بغيركَ
لا تنس مَنْ يطلبون السلام

وأنتَ تسدد فاتورةَ الماء، فكَّر بغيركَ
مَنْ يرضَعُون الغمامٍ
وأنتَ تعودُ إلى البيت، بيتكَ، فكَّر بغيركَ
لا تنس شعب الخيامَ

وأنت تنام وتُحصي الكواكبَ، فكرِّ بغيركَ
ثمَّةَ مَنْ لم يجد حيّزاً للمنام
وأنت تحرّر نفسك بالاستعارات، فكَّر بغيركَ
مَنْ فقدوا حقَهم بالكلام

وأنت تفكر بالآخرين البعيدين، فكِّر بنفسكَ
قُل: ليتني شمعة في الظلام

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When you prepare your breakfast, think upon others

Do not forget to feed the pigeons

When you engage in your wars, think upon others

Do not forget to demand peace

As you pay your water bill, think upon others!

Who seek sustenance from the clouds, not a tap

And when you return to a house -– your house -– think upon others

Such as those who live in tents

When you fall asleep counting sheep (planets), think upon others

Who cannot find a space for sleeping

And as you search for meaning with fancy metaphors, think upon others

Who have lost their right to words

 

And while you think of faraway others, think of yourself

And say: I am a candle to this darkness

Mahmoud Darwish (13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008): Think of Others, 2005: translation by Hamish Kinnear via The Edinburgh Arab Initiative, 12 February 2012

 Kabul, Afghanistan. A displaced girl from Helmand Province stands outside an adobe house: photo by Xinhua/Landov/Barcroft Media via The Guardian, 19 September 2014

Jerusalem. A Bedouin boy herds sheep in the West Bank village of Al-Eizariya: photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters via The Guardian, 19 September 2014

Gaza City. Young Palestinian students at their school, which was damaged during the recent conflict with Israel, on the second day of the school year: photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via the Guardian, 16 September 2014

 

Hebron, West Bank. People gather at the site where Israeli troops shot dead Palestinians Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha. The Israeli military said they were Hamas members responsible for killing three Israeli youths in June: photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters via The Guardian, 23 September 2014