Please note that the poems and essays on this site are copyright and may not be reproduced without the author's permission.


Wednesday, 17 August 2016

a broken leaf (independence day)

.
A Kashmiri boy peeps from the door of his home during a gunfight in Nowhatta area of downtown of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir

A Kashmiri boy peeps from the door of his home during a gunfight in Nowhatta area of downtown of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir: photo by Farooq Khan/EPA, 15 August 2016

A Kashmiri boy peeps from the door of his home during a gunfight in Nowhatta area of downtown of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir  

A Kashmiri boy peeps from the door of his home during a gunfight in Nowhatta area of downtown of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir: photo by Farooq Khan/EPA, 15 August 2016


INDIA - Indian army troops take position inside a building after a gunfight in Srinagar. By @TauseefMUSTAFA #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 August 2016


INDIA - Kashmiri mourners look on during the funeral of civilians at Aripanthan Magam village. By @TauseefMUSTAFA
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016

 


INDIA - Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard during a curfew in Lal Chowk in Srinagar. By @TauseefMUSTAFA #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 August 2016 



INDIA - Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard during a curfew in Lal Chowk in Srinagar. By @TauseefMUSTAFA #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 August 2016 


Jhanvi Behal prevented from unfurling the tricolour in #Srinagar, returns back to #Chandighar: image via NewsX Verified account @NewsX, 14 August 2016


40 days on, #Kashmir Valley Still on the boil: image via Economic Times Verified account @EconomicTimes, 16 August 2016


In Kashmir: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 16 August 2016



August 14, 2016 in Srinagar, Kashmir. @lookaround81 @PakistanIndependenceDay: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 14 August 2016

 


August 14, 2016 in Srinagar, Kashmir. @lookaround81 @PakistanIndependenceDay: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 14 August 2016




Modi Jee your Gao Mata gave aashirvaad to freedom of #Kashmir #FreeKashmir #Srinagar: image via Javaid Shaikh @javaidShaikh, 14 Aug 2016


Embarrassment for J and K government, as Indian flag fell while being hoisted in #Srinagar during a ceremony
: image via Kashmir Dispatch @Kashmir Dispatch, 15 August 2016



Embarrassing moment......Indian flag falls off the pole in #Srinagar
#SrinagarSlapsModi: image via queen of pti @queen_of_pti, 15 August 2015



 Even air of Jammu and #Kashmir doesn't accept #indian flag which falls down like broken leaf from flagpole in #Srinagar: image via Fara Qureshi @Fara Qureshi, 16 August 2016


The flag of india fell in SHAME!!! Couldn't cover the shame of killing innocent people of #Kashmir by india.: image via Syed Ali Geelani @sageelani, 15 August 2016


Podcast: Why peace in Kashmir wouldn’t fix the issues between India and Pakistan: image via Reuters Opinion @ReutersOpinion, 15 August 2016


Security personnel stand guard on a deserted street during #curfew for 39th day in #Srinagar. Photo: PTI: image via All India Radio News Verified account @airnewsalerts, 16 August 2016


40 days on, #Kashmir Valley Still on the boil: image via Economic Times Verified account @EconomicTimes, 16 August 2016


In Kashmir: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 16 August 2016


#India Independence day shooting injures 10 in #Kashmir: image via Al Arabiya English Verified account @AlArabiya_Eng, 14 August 2016



August 14, 2016 in Srinagar, Kashmir. @lookaround81 @PakistanIndependenceDay: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 14 August 2016

 


August 14, 2016 in Srinagar, Kashmir. @lookaround81 @PakistanIndependenceDay: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 14 August 2016



#Kashmir unrest: #CRPF opens fire in fresh clashes, toll rises to 63: image via Firstpost Verified account @firstpost, 16 August 2016


This -- in a matter of less than an hour. The charade of democracy on such brazen display #Kashmir.: image via Sameer S. Bhat @sameerft, 16 August 2016



Complete shutdown in #Kashmir valley following the killings. 5 more people have died in fresh firing since morning.: image via #Kashmir Dispatch @KashmirDispatch, 16 August 2016



Complete shutdown in #Kashmir valley following the killings. 5 more people have died in fresh firing since morning.: image via #Kashmir Dispatch @KashmirDispatch, 16 August 2016



Complete shutdown in #Kashmir valley following the killings. 5 more people have died in fresh firing since morning.: image via #Kashmir Dispatch @KashmirDispatch, 16 August 2016


On the eve of India and Pakistans independence anniversary message from #Kashmir is loud and clear for the world to see! : image via Mirwaiz Umar Farooq  @MirwaizKashmir, 14 August 2016
 


#Day 35 - Strict Curfew #Demonstrations #Srinagar #Kashmir: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 12 August 2016

 


#Day 35 - Strict Curfew #Demonstrations #Srinagar #Kashmir: image via Faisal Khan @lookaround81, 12 August 2016




#IndependenceDayIndia Cops opened fire on protesters, two Kashmiris were killed in #Srinagar. #KashmirNow: image via Nas lutas @PersonalEscritolookaround81, 16 August 2016
 

Here is what #Kashmir is celebrating on a mid-summer's night. || #Srinagar #KashmirUprising || Photo: @KashmirLife.: image via Sameer S. Bhat @sameerft, 11 August 2016

Independence Day celebrations across India - in pictures

Indian paramilitary force personnel drink water after marching at a parade ground in Agartala
: photo by AFP, 15 August 2016


Independence Day celebrations across India - in pictures

Indian schoolchildren behind the national flag as they participate in Independence Day celebrations in Chennai
: photo by Arun Sankar / AFP, 15 August 2016



SYRIA - Bodies are laid out in front of makeshift hospital in Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo. By @THAER_MOHAMMED: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


WEST BANK - Palestinian children look through a window in the Palestiniani al-Fawwar refugee camp. By @hazemjbader: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


WEST BANK - A Palestinian is wounded during clashes with Israeli soldiers in al-Fawwar refugee camp. By @hazemjbader: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016

ISRAEL- Demo against administrative detention and in support of Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed. By @gharabli_ahmed: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016 

 
WEST BANK - Palestinian stone throwers run during clashes as the Israeli army in Bani Naim. By @hazemjbader #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


GAZA CITY - A Palestinian farmer harvests grapes from his family field. By @mohmdabed #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016

 
INDIA - A motorist drives past an installation displaying a map of India ahead IDay in Chennai. By @ArunsankarKrish: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 August 2016


INDIA - A security force personnel stands guard in front of the Red Fort in New Delhi ahead of IDay. By @sajjadkmr: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 August 2016

Marcel Khalife: They stopped me at the border
 

They stopped me at the border, asking for my I.D.
I told them, "It's in Jaffa, my grandmother's hiding it"


And with these words, the group split in two
One half carried whips, the other asked, “Where is it?”
"In Palestine," I cried, and they split me in two
One half at the border, one half in my grandmother’s breast
 

They stopped me at the border, asking for my I.D.
I told them, "It's in Jaffa, my grandmother's hiding it"


Oh grandmother, hiding who knows where,

Hide my ID, hide it in some wall
They want to burn it, wipe it from the world
Oh clouds of my country, don’t rain on them

 
They stopped me at the border, asking for my I.D.
I told them, "It's in Jaffa, my grandmother is hiding it"

Marcel Khalife (b. 1950, Lebanon), They stopped me at the border, 1980, translated by Dunya and Boudi at Arabic Poetry, 15 April 2016

وقفوني ع الحدود                   



وقفوني ع الحدود... قال بدن هويتي قلتلن إنَّ بيافا... مخبايتها ستي
يا كلمة القلتها... تقسموا صفين صف بكرابيج... وصف يسأل وين صرخت بفلسطين... فسخوني نصين نصي على الحدود... ونص بحضن ستي
وقفوني ع الحدود... قال بدن هويتي قلتلن إنِّ بيافا... مخبايتها ستي




ستي يامخبايّ... مدري بأي بيت هويتي ضبيها...خبيها بشي حيط بدّهن يحرقوها... من الدني يمحوها ويا غيمات بلادي... عليهم ما تشتي
وقفوني ع الحدود... قال بدهن هويتي قلتلن إنَّ بيافا... مخبايتها ستي




Mahmoud Darwish: On Wishes

Don’t say to me:
     Would I were a seller of bread in Algiers
     That I might sing with a rebel.
Don’t say to me:
     Would I were a herdsman in the Yemen
     That I might sing to the shudderings of time.
Don’t say to me:
     Would I were a cafe waiter in Havana
     That I might sing the victories of sorrowing women.
Don’t say to me:
     Would I worked as a young laborer in Aswan
     That I might sing to the rocks.

My friend,
The Nile will not flow into the Volga,
Nor the Congo or the Jordan into the Euphrates.
Each river has its source, its course, its life.
My friend, our land is not barren.
Each land has its time for being born,
Each dawn a date with a rebel.


 عن الأمنيات

لا تقل لي:
ليتني بائع خبر في الجزائر
لأغني مع ثائر!
لا تقل لي:
ليتني راعي مواشٍ في اليمن
لأغني لانتفاضات الزمن
لا تقل لي:
ليتني عامل مقهى في هافانا
لأغني لانتصارات الحزانى!
لا تقل لي:
ليتني أعمل في أسوان حمّالاً صغير
لأغني للصخور
يا صديقي! لن يصب النيل في الفولغا
ولا الكونغو، ولا الأردن، في نهر الفرات!
كل نهر، وله نبع... ومجرى... وحياة!
يا صديقي!... أرضنا ليست بعاقر
كل أرض، ولها ميلادها
كل فجر، وله موعد ثائر!

Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008): On Wishes, translated by Denys Johnson-Davies (text via Arabic Poetry, 10 June 2011)



 

NYPD question man over killing of Muslim cleric as he left prayers: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016



NYPD question man over killing of Muslim cleric as he left prayers: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016




Hundreds gather to mourn Muslim cleric and his associate killed in New York
: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016

 


Hundreds gather to mourn Muslim cleric and his associate killed in New York
: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016

 


Hundreds gather to mourn Muslim cleric and his associate killed in New York
: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016

 


Hundreds gather to mourn Muslim cleric and his associate killed in New York
: image via Reuters U.S. News @ReutersUS, 16 August 2016


After decades of segregation, anger boils over in Milwaukee: image via Reuters Top News @Reuters, 16 August 2016


Milwaukee burned for a second night as protests erupted late Sunday: image via Reuters TV @ReutersTV, 15 August 2016


One person shot, officer injured in second night of Milwaukee protests: image via Reuters Top News @Reuters, 15 August 2016


 Suspect questioned in New York slaying of Muslim imam: image via Reuters Top News @Reuters, 15 August 2016


New York man charged with murder in deaths of imam, assistant: image via Reuters Top News @Reuters, 15 August 2016
 


US - Floods ravaged the US state of Louisiana leaving 6 dead and thousands more forced to flee. By @b_smialowski: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016

 


US - Floods ravaged the US state of Louisiana leaving 6 dead and thousands more forced to flee. By @b_smialowski: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


US - Floods ravaged the US state of Louisiana leaving 6 dead and thousands more forced to flee. By @b_smialowski: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


US - A man stands on the stairs of a home surrounded by flood waters in Gonzales, Louisiana.By @b_smialowski #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016


A truck is seen in a flooded parking lot on August 15, 2016 in Denham Springs, Louisiana.
 
A truck is seen in a flooded parking lot in Denham Springs, Louisiana: photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP, 16 August 2016



US - Floods ravaged the US state of Louisiana leaving 6 dead and thousands more forced to flee. By @b_smialowski: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 16 August 2016

 
A truck is seen in a flooded parking lot on August 15, 2016 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. 

A truck is seen in a flooded parking lot in Denham Springs, Louisiana: photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP, 16 August 2016

World in focus – best photos for August 16, 2016

Prefabricated homes are seen in flood waters at Southern Heritage Homes in Denham Springs, Louisiana
: photo by. Brendan Smialowski / AFP, 16 August 2016


Muslims hold pigeons dyed in the colours of the Indian flag, during a march to celebrate India's Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India

Muslims hold pigeons, dyed in the colours of the Indian flag, during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India: photo by Amit Dave/Reuters, 15 August 2016

Muslims hold pigeons dyed in the colours of the Indian flag, during a march to celebrate India's Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India 

Muslims hold pigeons, dyed in the colours of the Indian flag, during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India: photo by Amit Dave/Reuters, 15 August 2016

Free Syrian army fighters stand atop of a hill as the moon is seen in the background in the south of Nawa city, in Deraa Governorate

Free Syrian army fighters stand atop of a hill as the moon is seen in the background in the south of Nawa city, in Deraa Governorate, Syria: photo by Alaa Al-Faqir /Reuters, 17 August 2016

Free Syrian army fighters stand atop of a hill as the moon is seen in the background in the south of Nawa city, in Deraa Governorate 
 
Free Syrian army fighters stand atop of a hill as the moon is seen in the background in the south of Nawa city, in Deraa Governorate, Syria: photo by Alaa Al-Faqir /Reuters, 17 August 2016