Filmed by Karina Kiseleva

On Censorship

Am I allowed to write this poem?
Or has my ink been replaced with cement?
Am I allowed to speak these words?
Or have my vocal cords been tied?
I have been condemned only because I have nothing to hide.
They want the world to be a silent apartheid.

They want to cover my verses with cloth
And chop off the tips of my pens
They want me to praise the kingdom of their thoughts
And declaim tasteless verses, again and again.

ما بدهم ياني أحكي
لا جنس و لا سياسة و لا دين
هو ضل إشي أحكي فيه؟
بس باقي يحكولي
“ممنوع تحكي عن أي إشي بخص البني آدمين”

You can't speak about neither politics, nor religion, nor sex…
Maybe I should consider writing poetry about seahorses or T-Rex!
Like this, I'd have bigger chances of becoming the next Mandela or Malcolm X!
In school, I was taught that those who think too much eventually doubt
And I knew that if I'd open my mouth
I'd probably be kicked out
or politely asked to leave…
“Sir, why was there a tree of knowledge in the story of Adam and Eve?”
“Sir, why did Abraham ask to see God in order to believe?”

في بلادي نخاف الفكر كخوفنا من الدبابت
في بلادي تشن حروب صليبية ضد الكلمات
في بلادي نحفظ سورا كاملة
و لا نتفكر شيئا في الآيات

Am I allowed to write this poem?
Or has my ink been replaced with cement?
Am I allowed to speak these words?
Or have my vocal cords been tied?

At the count of three,
I want you all to repeat the word “abide”
One, two, three…
ABIDE
I do not want the world to be a silent apartheid.