Transcript Identity Card

Identity Card
Poem No.: 12
‫ النص العربي‬: ‫ال يوجد‬
All Palestinians
require an
identity card.
They are often
stopped and
checked by Israeli
authorities.
Mahmoud Darwish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XgHKVhdawA
Imperative ; forceful
and demanding
language that captures
the readers attention.
Definitive
statement of
belonging.
In Arabic it could
also be said as
‘report’ or ‘listen
up’.
Write down !
I am an Arab
And my identity card number is fifty thousand
Palestinian
Politics. Arab
population is a
threat to Israel
dominance.
I have eight children
First Person.
Very personal
And the ninth will come after a summer
Will you be angry?
Rhetorical question.
Perhaps sarcasm.
Speaks to the authority
of the Israelis.
Juxtaposed with the
opening statement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGnF4v0PjaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsX_NPi9u30
Write down!
Repetition for
effect
I am an Arab
Alludes to the
rocks Arab
youth throw at
Israeli
checkpoints
and convoys.
Employed with fellow workers at a quarry
I have eight children
I get them bread
Garments and books
Symbolism.
They belong to
the very rock of
Palestine
from the rocks..
I do not supplicate charity at your doors
Self-reliant. Will
not take help
from Israelis.
Nor do I belittle myself at the footsteps of your chamber
So will you be angry?
Repetition of 2nd
person rhetorical
question
Write down!
Palestine
without a
nation.
I am an Arab
I have a name without a title
Patient in a country
Waiting for
justice.
Where people are enraged
My roots
Deep sense of
belonging to
Palestine.
History and
culture is
embedded
Hyperbole.
Were entrenched before the birth of time
And before the opening of the eras
Before the pines, and the olive trees
And before the grass grew
Motif
[reoccurring
symbol] of earth
and rock
Cultural
belonging.
Powerless but
proud of
heritage.
My father… descends from the family of the plow
Not from a privileged class
Motif of earth
and rock
And my grandfather…was a farmer
Neither well-bred, nor well-born!
Teaches me the pride of the sun
Before teaching me how to read
.
And my house is like a watchman's hut
Marginalised.
There is a feeling
Arabs are
considered 2nd
class citizens in
Israel.
Made of branches and cane
Are you satisfied with my status?
Rhetorical question.
2nd person language
directs the question
to the reader
I have a name without a title!
Echoes of
Palestine
without a nation
Belonging and the
dispossession of
Palestinian land by
the expansion of
Israeli.
Write down!
I am an Arab
You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors
And the land which I cultivated
Along with my children
Irony: the only
thing left to them
is what
Palestinian youth
throw at the
Israeli Army
And you left nothing for us
Except for these rocks…
Motif of earth and
rock.
So will the State take them
As it has been said?!
Rhetorical question
imperative
Therefore!
Israel needs to
pay attention
Write down on the top of the first page:
I do not hate people
Nor do I encroach
But if I become hungry
Resistance
Hyperbole. Stresses
the ‘hunger’
Palestinians have for
their land
The usurper's flesh will be my food
Beware..
Repetition emphasises
the ongoing danger and
resistance to Israel
Beware..
Does this
rhyme in
Arabic
Of my hunger
And my anger!
.