One hundred and thirty five thousand
palestinians in Beirut,
but I didn’t know and nobody told me
and what could I do or say,
anyway?
They said you shot their London ambassador
and when that was not true
they said “so what?”.
They said you shelled
their northern villages
and when UN forces reported
“that was not true”,
because your side of the cease-fire was holding,
they said “so what?”.
They said they simply wanted to carve
a twenty five mile buffer zone,
and then they ravaged your water supplies,
your electricity,
your hospitals,
your schools,
your highways and byways
all the way north to Beirut.
They blew up your homes
and demolished the grocery stores
and blocked the Red Cross
and took away
doctors to jail,
and they cluster bombed
girls and boys,
whose bodies
swelled purple and black
into twice
their original size.
They said something about “never again”
and then they made close to one million
human beings homeless
in less than three weeks
and they killed or maimed
40,000 of your men
and your women
and your children.
They said they were victims.
They said you were Arabs.
They called your
apartments and gardens
guerrilla strongholds.
Then they told you to leave,
didn’t you read
the leaflets that they dropped
from their hotshot fighter jets?
They told you to go.
Yes, I did know it was the money
I earned as a poet that paid
for the bombs
and the planes
and the tanks
that they used to
massacre your family.
palestinians in Beirut,
but I didn’t know and nobody told me
and what could I do or say,
anyway?
They said you shot their London ambassador
and when that was not true
they said “so what?”.
They said you shelled
their northern villages
and when UN forces reported
“that was not true”,
because your side of the cease-fire was holding,
they said “so what?”.
They said they simply wanted to carve
a twenty five mile buffer zone,
and then they ravaged your water supplies,
your electricity,
your hospitals,
your schools,
your highways and byways
all the way north to Beirut.
They blew up your homes
and demolished the grocery stores
and blocked the Red Cross
and took away
doctors to jail,
and they cluster bombed
girls and boys,
whose bodies
swelled purple and black
into twice
their original size.
They said something about “never again”
and then they made close to one million
human beings homeless
in less than three weeks
and they killed or maimed
40,000 of your men
and your women
and your children.
They said they were victims.
They said you were Arabs.
They called your
apartments and gardens
guerrilla strongholds.
Then they told you to leave,
didn’t you read
the leaflets that they dropped
from their hotshot fighter jets?
They told you to go.
Yes, I did know it was the money
I earned as a poet that paid
for the bombs
and the planes
and the tanks
that they used to
massacre your family.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/1/21 - 12:46
Language: English
Il testo originale della poesia di June Jordan tratto da "Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan (Copper Canyon Press, 2005).
APOLOGIES TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN LEBANON
Dedicated to the 60,000 Palestinian men, women, and children who lived in Lebanon from 1948-1983.
I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
They said you shot the London Ambassador
and when that wasn’t true
they said so
what
They said you shelled their northern villages
and when U.N. forces reported that was not true
because your side of the cease-fire was holding
since more than a year before
they said so
what
They said they wanted simply to carve
a 25 mile buffer zone and then
they ravaged your
water supplies your electricity your
hospitals your schools your highways and byways all
the way north to Beirut because they said this
was their quest for peace
They blew up your homes and demolished the grocery
stores and blocked the Red Cross and took away doctors
to jail and they cluster-bombed girls and boys
whose bodies
swelled purple and black into twice the original size
and tore the buttocks from a four month old baby
and then
they said this was brilliant
military accomplishment and this was done
they said in the name of self-defense they said
that is the noblest concept
of mankind isn’t that obvious?
They said something about never again and then
they made close to one million human beings homeless
in less than three weeks and they killed or maimed
40,000 of your men and your women and your children
But I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
They said they were victims. They said you were
Arabs.
They called your apartments and gardens guerrilla
strongholds.
They called the screaming devastation
that they created the rubble.
Then they told you to leave, didn’t they?
Didn’t you read the leaflets that they dropped
from their hotshot fighter jets?
They told you to go.
One hundred and thirty-five thousand
Palestinians in Beirut and why
didn’t you take the hint?
Go!
There was the Mediterranean: You
could walk into the water and stay
there.
What was the problem?
I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
Yes, I did know it was the money I earned as a poet that
paid
for the bombs and the planes and the tanks
that they used to massacre your family
But I am not an evil person
The people of my country aren't so bad
You can expect but so much
from those of us who have to pay taxes and watch
American TV
You see my point;
I’m sorry.
I really am sorry.
Dedicated to the 60,000 Palestinian men, women, and children who lived in Lebanon from 1948-1983.
I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
They said you shot the London Ambassador
and when that wasn’t true
they said so
what
They said you shelled their northern villages
and when U.N. forces reported that was not true
because your side of the cease-fire was holding
since more than a year before
they said so
what
They said they wanted simply to carve
a 25 mile buffer zone and then
they ravaged your
water supplies your electricity your
hospitals your schools your highways and byways all
the way north to Beirut because they said this
was their quest for peace
They blew up your homes and demolished the grocery
stores and blocked the Red Cross and took away doctors
to jail and they cluster-bombed girls and boys
whose bodies
swelled purple and black into twice the original size
and tore the buttocks from a four month old baby
and then
they said this was brilliant
military accomplishment and this was done
they said in the name of self-defense they said
that is the noblest concept
of mankind isn’t that obvious?
They said something about never again and then
they made close to one million human beings homeless
in less than three weeks and they killed or maimed
40,000 of your men and your women and your children
But I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
They said they were victims. They said you were
Arabs.
They called your apartments and gardens guerrilla
strongholds.
They called the screaming devastation
that they created the rubble.
Then they told you to leave, didn’t they?
Didn’t you read the leaflets that they dropped
from their hotshot fighter jets?
They told you to go.
One hundred and thirty-five thousand
Palestinians in Beirut and why
didn’t you take the hint?
Go!
There was the Mediterranean: You
could walk into the water and stay
there.
What was the problem?
I didn’t know and nobody told me and what
could I do or say, anyway?
Yes, I did know it was the money I earned as a poet that
paid
for the bombs and the planes and the tanks
that they used to massacre your family
But I am not an evil person
The people of my country aren't so bad
You can expect but so much
from those of us who have to pay taxes and watch
American TV
You see my point;
I’m sorry.
I really am sorry.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/1/21 - 12:49
×
![]()
Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Album "Nuyol"
Parole di June Jordan
Canzone che utilizza parzialmente il testo di "Apologies to All the People in Lebanon", una poesia scritta durante l'invasione israeliana del Libano nel 1982 dalla poetessa, scrittrice ed attivista statunitense di origini giamaicane June Jordan (1936-2002).