Thursday 17 September 2009

Sabra and Shatila

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Genre-specific readers be alerted: this is first draft fiction, not reportage – though its material is entirely factual. Twenty seven years ago today.
sabra shatila 1The militia were Arabs, brother Arabs.
The Phalangists were already baying from east Beirut, howling revenge. Now Israel flew Haddad’s militia, la crème de la crème, up from the south. Both groups assembled at the airport, for General Sharon to ensure all were properly kitted out: with weapons, military rations, medical supplies; Israeli cocaine and Lebanese hashish; Mediterranean testosterone, bad breath.
Then he uncaged them.
At six on Thursday evening. In the first penetration, three hundred and twenty men were brought on thirty trucks. Four gangs invading from four approaches. These were the most blood-addicted, rape-happy, battle-addled of militiamen, men long ago surfeited on outrage, men who required ever more extreme atrocities to stir their glutted senses. Ever wilder, ever sharper.
Israel lit the sky for them. White phosphorus flares trailing and dancing. Fire above like a terrible sun in the ceiling, a sun switched on in anger, while the children are sleeping.
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Written by qunfuz
September 17, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Posted in Lebanon, Palestine, Writing
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

To see crimes against humanity can be upsetting, not only to person to person but also by means of media. Terror is horrifying to all people of all nations.
I have said it once before at another website I'll say say it again, "Television, can traumatize, innocent hearts." This is why we should not allow our children to watch horrible murder movies or see any other horrible images that can traumatize them. But how do we keep that from happening to our children when they live in horror and terror in their own country because of war and other hate crimes? Families are not even safe in their own homes in middle-eastern countries.

At the same time having pictures that promote hope for peace and a better life for 'all humans' can be a great way of bringing people into a peaceful condition now, but we must help them in that regard. People who have been terrified do not need to see terrifying pictures, or videos, they need hope and help, love and care.

With your blogs, when you put an image of pain can you also put one that will bring delight to broken hearts? Such as flowers or smiling happy families; give people something to hope for. Do you need help with that? I'm not saying I can but I might be able to do a little here and there as long as it doesn't compromise my faith.