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How does a genocide end?

Aicha bint Yusif

1) The butterfly effect: a butterfly settles on the barrel of a gun, and whispers to       the soldier about to pull the trigger: you think you are winning.


2) The man (sometimes it’s a woman) whose raised hand vetoes against a ceasefire, is idiopathically paralyzed at the exact moment and time; the neural electric charge gets stuck somewhere along his spine. The hand is not raised, and humanity is saved. 


3) Soldiers’ hearts are stiff and dry. One day, while walking among the debris, their hearts shatter into a million pieces, their guns are dropped, and they hurry back to their families for a warm hug. 


4) Genocide: geno=people; cide=killing.

When there are no people left,

that’s when we will all be dead.


5) The elements: the wind becomes unyielding to advanced missiles and iron domes. The sea becomes unforgiving to the blood spilled. The soil becomes sand dunes beneath the heavy tanks, and fire. The fire engulfs the whole world in its flames.


6) God wakes up from his stupor. He sees everything, and as he announces his verdict, he flips through a white sheet with all the hasanat (good deeds) and the saye2at (bad deeds). 


7) None of the above, a genocide never ends. Its scars are engraved in our souls. The absence of body limbs reminds us of what was there. Gaza keeps asking: when shall this pass? Refaat’s voice echoes through the abyss. 


Aicha bint Yusif is a 26 year old Palestinian living in Haifa (Israel/Occupied Palestine). She holds an English literature degree and is currently studying Medicine. She is passionate about poetry, and her works appeared in World Literature Today (NYC) and Rusted Radishes(American University of Beirut). She also likes yoga, making crafts and learning languages (she speaks Arabic, Hebrew, English, Spanish and a bit of German and French).

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