Call For Humanity

Hello friends, family, and strangers. I hope this blogpost finds you well and interested. As some of you know, I, a philleventine, have recently returned from a brief, yet meaningful, trip to Palestine. As you may also know, this has been a dream of mine for many, many years and I am so thankful that I finally had the amazing opportunity to visit the West Bank, albeit, for a short period.

I have been a student of Palestine for about 15 years. My unconditional interest in almost anything Palestinian paved the way towards my Master's in Middle Eastern Studies from the American University of Beirut - concentrating on Palestinian diasporic identity. Currently, I work in the field of higher education where I focus on experiential programs in the Middle East. However, none of what I've learned through books, lectures, documentaries, and study comes close to the eye-opening and heartwarming (as well as heartbreaking) experience I had in Palestine this summer. Through this blog, I hope to bring some powerful stories to you about the eight days I spent there. I chose the url "usepoetry" because it comes from one of my favorite author's Jack Kerouac, who says "Don't use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry." This can mean a variety of things to different people, or even nothing at all....In Palestine, I discovered a lot of poetry. From the green rolling hills of the West Bank to the rows upon rows of olive trees; from the sorrow in people's eyes to the tea they offered guests in their homes; from the art displayed on the apartheid wall to the machine gun pointed directly at your face as you walk through a checkpoint...the list goes on and I don't wish to "use the phone" here because it's true that there are more people who choose not to answer...more people who choose to turn a blind eye than those who want to listen, who want to learn, and want to act. I've posted pictures, pulled videos and url's from the web, and used my words to share the poetry that I discovered with you. I hope you find poetry in the struggle and the resilience, too. I hope you spread the word and take action against apartheid and injustice. If anything, I hope you take the time to simply read these posts. 

Comments, feelings, opinions are welcome.