KARACHI: In the first week of December 2023, Palestinian poet, writer, professor of English Literature and activist Refaat Alareer was killed in an Israeli airstrike. He was 44. In one of his poems, I Am You, he expresses the situation in Palestine with contextual poignancy and poetic grace. The following lines are taken from that poem:

The very same gun

The very same bullet

That had killed your Mom

And killed your Dad

Is being used,

Against me,

By you.

Mark this bullet and mark in your gun.

If you sniff it, it has your and my blood.

It has my present and your past.

It has my present.

It has your future.

That’s why we are twins,

Same life track

Same weapon

Same suffering

Same facial expressions drawn

On the face of the killer,

Same everything

Except that in your case

The victim has evolved, backward,

Into a victimiser.

A group show of artworks made by 23 established and young artists of Pakistan which is underway at the Koel Art Gallery titled Olive Branch aims to visually express ‘the atrocities and interminable suffering of the hapless Gazans’.

It is a display that exudes sensitivity and considerateness. Obviously, the participating individuals, belonging to that segment of society which has its finger on the pulse of society, feel hurt and are deeply worried about what’s transpiring in the Middle East. They have not just taken it as their moral duty to say what they feel but also consider it their artistic obligation to show where they stand on the issue. Since the subject is of an extremely sensitive nature, one wouldn’t analyse the paintings on view and instead hope and pray that their creative endeavors result in a lasting peace in, and for, Palestine.

The exhibition curated by Nafisa Rizvi concludes on Feb 10.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2024