POETRY: The Voice of Rafeef Ziadah

Rafeef Ziadah is a poet that you all need to hear. A Palestinian refugee based in London, her poetry centres on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The poet and human rights activist became an internet sensation after her poem ‘We teach life, Sir’ went viral within a few days of its release.

Sometimes, with the constant flow of Israeli-Palestinian news coverage, the constant bombardment of war images can leave one desensitized (‘Syrian jets bomb Palestinian camp, killing 25’ becomes just another news story); but, Ziadah’s emotive and powerful voice forces us to truly see those affected by this on-going conflict; and to care.

In the same way that Africa has been given a single story, Palestine has suffered that same fate; however Ziadeh and her frank tongue demand us to see Palestine as more than the hate and terrorism it continues to be synonymous with.