Ancestors as warriors:

On left, distinguished Canaanite charioteer with his chariot, close fitting metal helmet, clothes covered by bronze mail.

On right, clean shaved warrior with crowned helmet and distinguished tasseled kilt.

Write Down,
I am an Arab,
My card number is 50,000
I have eight children,
The ninth will come next summer,
Are you angry?

Write Down,
I am an Arab,
I cut stone with comrade labourers,
I squeeze the rock,
To get a loaf,
To get a loaf,
To get a book,
For my eight children.
But I do not plead charity
And I do not cringe
Under your sway.
Are you angry?

..cont'd

Write Down,
I am an Arab,
I am a name without a title,
Steadfast in a frenzied world,
My roots sink deep
Beyond the ages,
Beyond time,

I am the son of the plough
Of humble peasant stock,
I live in a hut
Of reed and stalk.
The hair: Jet black.
The eyes: Brown.
My Arab headdress
Scratches intruding hands,
An I prefer a dip of oil and thyme.

..cont'd

And please write down
on top of all,
I hate nobody,
but when I starve
I eat the flesh of my marauders.
Beware,
beware my hunger.
beware my wrath.

Mahmoud Darwish

From Ram Allah in traditional costumes,1935.

Yaffa ( Jaffa ) oranges 1940's:

Palestine has been always a main producer of fruits and in particular its unique oranges.

Suq (bazaar or old market ) in Hebron:

The man in traditional costumes preparing wool for embroidery and other activities.

Palestinian costumes in Palestinian Folk Festival.

Women expressing pride of their heritage.

Palestinian women building their heritage. Embroidery has been a Palestinian characteristic since the dawn of our Palestinian civilization.

Modern Applications of Traditional Patterns.

A Palestinian, in Jerusalem, sweeps the floor in front of his shop.

He is in traditional Palestinian costumes.

Debkah:

a traditional Palestinian Dance in national holidays and wedding ceremonies.

Men from Galilee

We will come out of our camps
We will come out of our exile
We will come out of our shelters
We will have no more shame
if the enemy insults us.
We will blush no more
We know how to manage our arms
And we know the art of unarmed
self-defence

..cont'd

We also know how to build
A modern factory
A house
A hospital
A school
A bomb
A missile
And we know how to write the most
beautiful poems

Mahmoud Darwish

Technician adjust artificial leg to a fighter.

One of Ibrahim Ghannan's-the night before the wedding

Shepherd.

Radio Times Hulton Picture Library.

Abu Jihad, Khalil Al Wazir, and his daughter in his office in 70's.

If you blow out the candles in my eyes,
If you freeze all the kisses on my lips,
If you fill my native air with lisping curses,
Or silence my anguish,
Forge my coin,
Uproot the smile from my children's faces.
If you raise a thousand walls,
And nail my eyes to humiliation,
Enemy of man,
I shall not compromise
And to the end
I shall fight.

Samih Al Qassim

The Arab rebellions,1938. popperfoto

They shut me in a dark cell,
My heart glowed with sunny torches.
They wrote my number on the walls,
the walls transformed to green pastures,
They drew the face of my executioner,
The face was soon dispersed
With luminous braids.
They shut me in a dark cell,
I carved your map with my teeth upon
the walls
And wrote the song of fleeting night.
I hurled defeat to obscurity
And plunged my hands
Into rays of light.
They conquered nothing.
Nothing,
They only kindled earthquakes.

Fadwa Tuqan

Captured Palestinians are taken by the British from Ramleh to Jerusalem for interrogation. popperfoto

Answers!!

Answers!!