Poesía. Poetry. "I wish Children didn't Die!" Por By Ghassan Kanafani ENG/ESP

ENGLISH

Before 7th October 2023

“I wish children didn’t die.
I wish they would be temporarily
elevated to the skies until the war ends.

Then they would return home safe,
and when their parents would ask them:
“where were you?” they would say:
“we were playing in the clouds.”

For us, liberating our country and having dignity, respect and human rights are as essential as life itself." Ghassan Kanafani, who is remembered with this answer to a question from a Western journalist, is an important writer and activist who devoted his life to the Palestinian cause.

Kanafani, who had to leave his hometown, Acre, in 1948, when he was only 13 years old, became known as an influential figure both literary and politically regarding the rights of the Palestinian people during the years he was away from his country. He started his career teaching Palestinian children in refugee camps and continued as a journalist and writer. 

He was known as a defender of Palestinian identity and resistance. His works generally dealt with the history of Palestine and the difficulties experienced by the people. His works such as Men in the Sun and Return to Haifa were among the important literary works dealing with the Palestinian issue.  

He died when he was only 38 years old, when a bomb placed in his car by Mossad exploded in Beirut. He left behind eighteen books and hundreds of articles about the Palestinian struggle.  Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star wrote of Kanafani: "He was a commando who never fired, his gun was his ballpoint pen, his place was the newspaper pages." We are sharing with you the text that Ghassan Kanafani wrote with Palestinian children in mind.

ESPAÑOL

Antes del 7 de octubre de 2023

 «Ojalá no murieran niños. Ojalá fueran elevados temporalmente a los cielos hasta que terminara la guerra. Entonces volverían a casa sanos y salvos, y cuando sus padres les preguntaran, ¿dónde estabais? Dirían: estábamos jugando en las nubes». 

Para nosotros, liberar nuestro país y tener dignidad, respeto y derechos humanos son tan esenciales como la vida misma». Ghassan Kanafani, a quien se recuerda con esta respuesta a una pregunta de un periodista occidental, es un importante escritor y activista que dedicó su vida a la causa palestina.  

Kanafani, que tuvo que abandonar su ciudad natal, Acre, en 1948, cuando sólo tenía 13 años, se dio a conocer como una figura influyente tanto literaria como políticamente en relación con los derechos del pueblo palestino durante los años que estuvo lejos de su país. Comenzó su carrera enseñando a niños palestinos en campos de refugiados y continuó como periodista y escritor. Era conocido como defensor de la identidad y la resistencia palestinas. Sus obras trataban generalmente de la historia de Palestina y de las dificultades vividas por el pueblo. Obras suyas como Hombres al sol y Retorno a Haifa figuran entre las obras literarias importantes que tratan la cuestión palestina.  

Murió cuando sólo tenía 38 años, al estallar en Beirut una bomba colocada en su coche por el Mossad. Dejó dieciocho libros y cientos de artículos sobre la lucha palestina.  El periódico libanés The Daily Star escribió sobre Kanafani: «Era un comando que nunca disparaba, su arma era su bolígrafo, su lugar eran las páginas de los periódicos». Compartimos con ustedes el texto que Ghassan Kanafani escribió pensando en los niños palestinos.