MAZIN QUMSIYEH, A Man of His People

On Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 2:27 AM, Mazin Qumsiyeh wrote:

Here is a quote from a speech by Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader who spent decades in prisons in Apartheid South Africa and became its President after the end of Apartheid

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

And Mazin, himself, wrote. . . .


We are now (Tuesday) heading to Boise, Idaho on the Wheels of Justice Bus Tour. We had great time in Oregon (and over 300 signed on as new friends of the bus; ranging in age from 11-88 year olds :-). Here is a relevant short poem I wrote inspired by a message covering a mirror at the Catholic Worker house where we stayed in the last few nights in Portland (note I am a medical geneticist and not a poet :-{ ) followed by the weekly relevant links:

FACES

As a child we first recognized faces before objects or toys
And we loved all faces.. ALL Faces
But a child's eyes grow some times
and learns to avert from some faces
Those who still really see.. see all faces
Faces that look away and those that engage us
Faces of youth radiant with young love
Faces of old content in holding hands
Faces of a lifelong activists with passion and determination
Faces of anger and fear and yes even racism in people who may or may not feel guilty for their thoughts of tribalism or yes racism
Faces that see the color of the face not its expression
I see faces of child angels who have no fear of strangers
Faces of mothers looking at their suckling babies
Faces suffering illness
Faces of students unsure of where to go
and those which light up with new knowledge
Faces contorted with hunger
Faces smiling at new friendships
Faces wet with the tears at the loss of loved ones
Faces weeping at coffins of young shot by those with young faces
Faces of those who claim to be good Christians, good Muslims, Good Jews
While doing unto others what they would not want done unto them
Faces of hate and bigotry
or compassion and understanding
Faces devastated at a home demolished
a family uprooted, a refugee camp
Faces of horror
Faces of despair
Faces of deep love
Faces of those who still see with a child's eyes
and those hardened and cynical
Faces of kindness and mercy
or ignorance and racism
Smiling or laughing
shouting or wailing
All human faces..etched when we look carefully
IN THE MIRROR
and choose



Video: AFSC video on the cost of war on Iraq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnq6cD5jk1Q

Video: Palestinian children in a destroyed refugee camp in Jenin express steadfastness/resistance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHb7FtyxO4

Scary Video: The "Christians United for Israel Tour!" (End-times, nuclear weapons blowing up, Jews accepting Jesus and "Moslems = Satan" circus). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjMRgT5o-Ig

AND BUSES ARE GROWING :-)
From CAPJPO-EuroPalestine http://www.europalestine.com
We would like to thank all those who took part in our fantastic bus tour through Paris on the 23 February, date of the international day of protest against the blockade of Gaza. This provided us with the opportunity to make the film "Paris-Palestine Tour", which we wholeheartedly recommend to you. You can watch it on our site http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article3033 , or on YouTube, DailyMotion or Google ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkxgvXoy4F8 ; http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4lles_paris-tour-de-soutien-palestine_news ; http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=1115376689250369205&hl=fr ).

The mega prison of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe (Pappe was a professor at Hebrew University and is now at the University of Exeter).
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9370.shtml

Al Jazeera, March 9/08 Tragedy of Israel and Palestine By Mark Levine
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BB1E373A-50F9-403A-9263-98D09D584A31.htm

Khalid Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem "My message to the Jews"
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2008/03/10/my-message-to-the-jews/

ACTIONS: Speak and write to friends, family members, the media, and to elected officials. Express your opinion in every forum. Every voice counts. As Howard Zinn said "You can't be neutral on a moving train" (in this case the train is likely heading for a cliff and we need to stop it or get off of it).

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
http://qumsiyeh.org