We are the Heroes

Let the truth be heard: us farmers in the Arab world, we are heroes.

We deserve the highest of distinctions; even higher that the once given to soldiers who protect their country.

We could sacrifice our lives if that means saving our chickens, because losing them means losing our money and becoming bankrupt, which leads to completely ruining our life.

We are hard workers in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, or any Arab country. Our job is hectic and the conditions are rough-god forbid nobody experiences them.

We sometimes work and sleep on the boarders of volcanos, other times we run under bullets and/or bombings. We risk our lives to feed all people and of course, to feed our children and families…

We are “forgotten soldier” in the random wars that are launched by the known or unknown gods of this world.

The snipers’ bullets might not kill us, but they will definitely consume our energy and distract us from thinking straight and from making the right decisions.

If we manage to run away from bullets, we find ourselves waiting in the queues with the emigrants who are begging in front of the “Sultans”…

We may be forced to be heroes, but we are heroes nonetheless.

Please tell me, where is the escape?

If we do not want to have our poultry farms under bullets and bombings, where can we have them?

There are no farms at the sultan’ nor could our chicks live amongst the warriors’ fires and sarin and chlorine gases…are we left with any option other than volcanos?

This is our state today…

We work, we produce, we feed people…but we are working while we are scared under bombings or with a chronic fear next to volcanos that could explode any second. but we are proud of it. We are the weakest organ technically, but the strongest one effectively.

Who are we really? is it true that we are heroes? is it true that we are the life of people and their daily bread? is it true that we are victims in our weakness? is it true that the random wars’ martyrs are ours?

I do not know.

We could be nothing at all…or we could be everything!

But who’s asking? or who cares?

I can’t but quote the poet when he said: “ You who are taking advantage of the weak, can’t you see what the hunter does to the bird?”