This September Palestinians commemorated the 25th anniversary of
the massacre of their people in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps
in Lebanon. On September 15-18, 1982, more than 2,000 Palestinian
civilians were slaughtered by the Lebanese Phalangists in
Sabra-Shatila. This came as the culmination of the 1982 Israeli
invasion of Lebanon. With the last contingent of PLO fighters
leaving Beirut on August 30, handing their weapons over to the
Lebanese army as per the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, the Palestinian
camps were left defenseless.
The massacre was committed with the complicity of the Israeli
forces surrounding the refugee camps, who allowed the Phalangist
troops to enter the camps, even though the same troops had
previously engaged in mass killings of Palestinians living in
Lebanon. The killing at the refugee camps went on for three
days.
The Israeli peace camp condemned the massacre, and some 400,000
Israelis demonstrated against the massacre and against the invasion
of Lebanon.
Sabra-Shatila: Resisting the Slaughter
Musa Al-Hindi
Musa Al-Hindi is a member of Al-Awda's executive committee and an
organizer of the Palestinian Popular Conference in the U.S.
To Farid "Butrus"Al-Khatib, who fell so that Sabra-Shatila would
continue to live.
To Hana Shahin, who fell, but refused to be silenced.
O people tell the world about what happened to the Palestinian
people.
O boat waiting at the port, upon your return tell our beloved
ones.
The days and the years slipped away with the departure of my
beloved.
It is an exodus without return, O Palestinians!
O mother, my tears are flowing down my cheeks. O mother, where
shall I go?
What shall I do? I am already homeless in the land of the
Arabs.
I have been alone all night counting the stars by myself.
I went to the sea, O mother, to cast my net. But, the sea swallowed
my net.
O my beloved, with whom shall I stay? With whom shall I talk?
May God be pleased with you. May He have mercy on you.
Did they cover you with soil, my children?
May God make the earth soft on your tender bodies.
From recordings of mourning women in Shatila made by ABC News in
the wake of the Sabra-Shatila massacre
