Your Stories Look Me in the Eyes

From societies living together yet drowning in hatred and despair emerge two souls who see the truth in the wisdom of their prophets: "Feed the hungry and greet with words of peace those you know and those you do not know" and "the work of righteousness shall be peace". Basman Derawi (Gaza/Egypt) and Michal Rubin (Israel/US) write for a true "Never again" "Not in my name", for a child not to have "Genocide" in his/her dictionary, for living colonization free, occupation free, for no more selective humanity, for justice which is the only road to real peace.

This is a book of searching and finding, through fear and pain, their shared humanity, love of the land, and its people, and decide, in their unique way through poetry, to co-create the yet unfertilized seed of a new reality.

As Rubin writes:

When I hear you say

"I am from Gaza"

I think I must paint the screams I don't hear

and that there isn't enough love

nor enough red paint

and what color to use

for the silence

between cries

And Derawi responds:

When I hear you say,

"I am from Israel"

and you unzip your chest,

handing me your heart.

Same hearts, same humanity.

I breathe again, I almost cry.

The poems in this collection are a precious example of a careful and thoughtful paradigm shift, creating a path to a world of justice, trust, caring, love, and safety between "enemies".