Dear Stranger

Hello again!


Today I want to share another poem of mine. But before I do I want to explain to you why I wrote it.


I started writing when I was a kid. I had nobody to talk to, at an early age I learned to hide my feelings and to smile even when all I wanted to do was to cry or to scream. Writing was my way to cope with everything, to let it all out. Pen and paper became my best friends...


That's quite a while ago but writing still is a part of my life, it's a passion and it still helps me to get through tough times or to get my thoughts in order. And most importantly it gives me a voice. Writing is an art and art has the power to send a message, to move people, to give a voice to those who are not being heard. And that is why in summer of 2014 I wrote this poem.


Back then the Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalated again. I'm half Lebanese, most of my family lives in Lebanon, so it felt like it was happening right next door. One of my closest friends is Palestinian. About 10% of the Lebanese population were Palestinian refugees who mostly live in poverty because they can't claim all the rights others have or get simply because they don't have an official home country. That number even has increased due to the war in Syria...
Friends and family over there told me about the situation, I watched the news and I saw horrific pictures. I just can't watch people suffer, their pain and despair somehow becomes my own. I was heartbroken so I sat down and wrote this:



Dear Stranger,

my name is Fatima, I'm from Palestine.
I wish I could say I'm fine
but the truth is, I'd be lying.
God knows I'm trying -
though so many are dying I wanna be brave.
I feel like a bird in a cave
and I think soon I'll be lying in a grave.

I'm only seven years old, I'm just a kid
and I'm asking myself what the hell I did?!
What did I do to deserve suffering like this?
Hell on earth, that's what this is.
It's hard to find the water we need,
our cattle dies, we can't grow seeds.
They don't stop killing, blood's all over the streets.
They warn us, tell us to flee.
But the borders are blocked,
the door to our cave is locked.

I became their victim just like all the others.
I saw so many grieving mothers!
My own mother, she doesn't cry
because she's one of many who already died.
My unborn sister never saw the sunlight.
I wanna be strong, blieve me, I try
but then again I ask myself "why?!"
They won't stop, I won't last long
so what use is it to be strong?
I believed in happy endings - I guess I was wrong.

My home is a ruin now, I have nowhere to go.
I hear screams while the next bomb explodes.
They shed our blood, they take our lives
and we have nowhere to hide.
The smell of dead bodies is everywhere.

Dear Stranger, please tell me you care!
Don't ignore me and my people, we're humans, too!
Do you care about us? Please tell me you do.

I don't know what to anymore, I have no clue.
I'm alone now, no family left.
I watched my baby brother bleed to death,
watched him taking his very last breath.
I tried to help him, God knows I tried.
Until the end I was by his side.
His young and pure soul used to shine so bright
and suddenly he lost that light.
It's like he sleeps through a never ending night.

Dear Stranger, please pray for us, pray for me
so I won't lose hope in humanity.
I want the war to end, want to be free
and if that day is not meant for me to see
then please, dear Stranger, just remember me...



Nothing's ever black and white. We're individuals, we're not all the same. Don't blame or punish a whole people for something a small group of them might has done. It's never about heritage or religion or looks. The only thing that counts is what a person does and that action only speaks for that person not for anybody else. And there is no such thing as "collateral damage", every single innocent life lost is a shame to humanity.
Be sensitive and compassionate. It's a gift that gives you the power to make a change!


Thank you for reading this. Now it's your turn, tell me what you think about it. Did you like the poem? Do you want to share your opinion on the topic? You're welcome to do so in the comments below.


With lots of love

Loulou