Prof Mohamed Abdul Aziz Rabie born in Hebron and now living in Washington is a distinguished professor who taught in many big universities in United States, Switzerland, Germany, Kuwait and Morocco in the field of International Political Economy. He had published more than 45 books in English and Arabic including: The Politics of Foreign Aids, The New World Order, Conflict Resolution and The Middle-East Peace Process, US-PLO Dialogue,The Making of American Foreign Policy.His memoirs consist of five books including Memories That Defy Forgetting, two novels and three poetry books etc. He is the President of Arab Thought Council,and Executive Director of Institute of Palestinian Studies.He was a member of Harvard University team and The Brookings Institute to advance peace and economic development of Middle East. He was awarded the Highest Award of Palestine. Recently he was chosen as The Top 100 Writers of The World by International Biographers Society.
PORTRAIT OF A REFUGEE
Running, running everywhere
From here to there to nowhere
Running night and day
Without knowing
Where to go, where to stay
A displaced, dispossessed refugee
Must flee war zones and hide
Deprived of home, identity and land
Searching for a hospitable homeland
Holding hand in hand
Young and old are walking
One eye on the road ahead
The other on what left behind
Moving from cave to cave
Valley to valley
Across mountains of snow
Oceans of mud and sand
Bodies are tired
Eyes are tired
And souls are sad
A refuge must keep walking
Looking for kind people
To listen to his agonizing story
Give him a new chance in life
Free his children from fear and need
And old ties that bind
The soul is angry feeling bad
Unable to accept or understand
Why it should be forever stranger
Wherever it may go or land
The brain is getting worried
No longer able to have peace of mind
Memories seem to grow old
And may soon be buried in sand
And history forgets the life they had
Soon the body will die
In silence without a whisper or cry
It does not matter how and where
Refugees have no right to know
No matter how long they may stay
The land can never be their land
Worms will multiply eating the flesh
Transforming it into natural fertilizer
So wild flowers could grow and bloom
And the sunflower shines like a little moon
The soul will resume wandering
Traveling with dignity and pride
Flying across turbulent oceans
Green mountains and fields of sand
Promoting peace and freedom
The sharing of love
And love of the land
Blessing the good
Forgiving the bad
Unifying people of the world
Cultures, religions and land
Building brick by brick
A dream the body never had
Where life is renewed every day
In the never ever Land
A loving shared homeland
POTRET SEORANG PELARIAN
Lari, lari ke sana sini
Dari sini ke sana dan tiada tujuan akhirnya
Lari siang dan malam
Tanpa mengetahui
Ke mana dan di mana akan tinggal
Pelarian yang hanyut dan tak punya apa
Perlu lari dari perang dan bersembunyi
Hilang rumah tangga, jati diri dan tanah air
Mencari negara baru yang sudi menerima
Berpegangan tangan
Yang muda dan tua terus berjalan
Sebelah mata memandang ke hadapan
Sebelah lagi bersama tanah air yang ditinggalkan
Bergerak dari gua ke gua
Lembah ke lembah
Menyeberangi gunung dan padang salji
Lautan lumpur dan pasir
Tubuh menjadi lemah
Pandangan jadi kabur
Dan jiwa teramat lara
Orang pelarian mesti terus berjalan
Mencari manusia baik
Untuk mendengar cerita derita mereka
Dan memberi peluang baru kepada mereka
Membebaskan anak-anak mereka dari ketakutan dan beban keperluan hidup
Dan mengikat hubungan lama untuk menyambung silaturrahim
Jiwa merana kerna derita
Tak dapat menerima dan memahami
Kenapa harus jadi orang asing selamanya
Ke mana juga mereka pergi dan sampai
Minda menjadi risau
Tiada lagi ketenangan jiwa
Segala kenangan menjadi seperti terlalu lama
Yang tidak lama lagi akan terkubur
Dan sejarah melupakan kehidupan masa lalu mereka
Tidak lama lagi jasad akan mati
Dalam kesenyapan tanpa bisikan mau pun tangisan
Tidak penting bagaimana dan di mana dia meninggal dunia
Orang pelarian tiada hak tahu
Berapa lama pun mereka berada di situ
Tanah itu bukan milik mereka
Cacing pun membiak dengan banyak memakan tubuh
Tanah di situ bertukar subur oleh baja asli
Supaya bunga-bunga liar boleh tumbuh dan kembang
Dan bunga matahari mekar bersinar seperti bulan kecil
Roh-roh akan terus menerawang
Mengembara penuh dengan harga diri dan bangga
Di kehijauan bukit dan padang pasir
Mempromosi keamanan dan kebebasan
Berkongsi kasih sayang
Dan cinta kepada negra
Mereka merestui kebaikan
Memaafkan keburukan
Menyatu-padukan manusia seluruh dunia
Dengan kebudayaan, agama dan negara yang sama
Mereka membina sedikit demi sedikit
Mimpi-mimpi yang tak pernah dicapai semasa hidup
Dengan kehidupan baru bertukar saban hari
Di alam barzakh
Sebuah negeri dikongsi bersama oleh semua orang

Translated into BAHASA MELAYU by Siti Ruqaiyah HASHIM
FROM: NEWS FROM STRASBOURG ANTHOLOGY