Palestine: An incredible tragedy

By Isidoros Karderinis

Two years have passed since 7 October 2023. 

The sunlight has disappeared in this tragic region of the planet, and everything has been covered in darkness.

There are no more smiles on faces of people in this area. There is no more optimism and joy. And hearts have turned black from deep pain.

The children who have been saved from the bombs and bullets that fell like hail are gloomy and distressed, seeing destroyed houses and muddy streets around them.

Children in particular have suffered dramatic consequences. According to the United Nations, more children died in Gaza in the first four months of the conflict than were killed in four years of conflict worldwide.

The humanitarian crisis is deep. Famine had threatened the survivors with death. Hunger has taken its toll, especially on children, who faint from exhaustion in the streets, in front of the eyes of desperate parents who are unable to help them.

According to Unicef, some 17,000 minors have been unaccompanied or separated from their parents since the day the war began.

The total number of people killed since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, which now resembles an open wound in the heart of humanity, has exceeded 67,000, while there are over 150,000 injured, often seriously.

Many have amputated limbs, without access to care, in bombed-out hospitals. And thousands more remain buried alive or dead under the rubble, in cities and villages that were turned into piles of rubble in just a few hours.

The photos of children emerging from the rubble, covered in dust and blood, were shocking. Photos that could only cause heartbreak and tears.

But why was this war happening? Why was this conflict perpetuated? The Israelis have the right to have their own state, but the Palestinians also have the right to have their own piece of land with statehood.

For 77 years – since 1948, the year the state of Israel was created – there has been a UN resolution to create an independent Palestinian state but it has not been implemented.

At that time, from the area designated as historical Palestine, Israel took 56% and the remaining 44% was intended to define the borders for the Palestinian state that was to be established.

But the state of Israel – and the state is those who govern each time – attacks the Palestinian people and has expanded the occupation of Palestinian lands.

It is certain that people all over the world do not want war. They do not want killings, dead people and crimes. They want to live in a peaceful environment, beautifully, peacefully and happily. They yearn for peace. They want to smile every day and dream.

All people in this world set goals and try to achieve them, thus giving meaning to their lives. They do not want these goals to be interrupted violently, suddenly and abruptly, as happens when a country plunges into the maelstrom of war.

They do not want to be immersed for months or even years in this horror. Fathers and mothers want to see their children progress and fill them with pride. They do not want to send them to war and see them killed in the most horrific way.

The recent agreement signed in Egypt in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh between Israel and Hamas, brokered by US President Donald Trump, for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners raises the first real hope for ending the war in the Gaza Strip.

However, time will tell whether this agreement will indeed mean the long-awaited permanent end to the war – given that after the first ceasefire in November 2023 and the second ceasefire in early 2025 there was a return to military operations and clashes.

This devastating tragedy that has marked humanity, cannot leave anyone who has sensitivity, compassion and humanity in their soul unmoved.

All that has happened there in the last two years is a black mark on human civilisation. Writers and artists especially, who bear the enormous responsibility of emotional exhortation, must shout as loudly as they can: “Stop the war now” and “end the genocide”.

So, feeling pain, sadness and anger, I too decided to write a poem about this unspeakable tragedy. Recently, this poem was set to music by the composer Pavlos Zissakos (see the music video below).

The lyrics are as follows:

The Tragedy of Palestine

A region steeped in war and in the mud
Without sun, without joy, without flowers
Watered with bitter tears and red blood
Without carefree children, without songs.

Deformed human bodies are found everywhere
Motionless, without various body parts
Destroyed cities that look like death lands
And in the sky the pigeons nowhere.

Caravans of refugees without a compass
With bombs flying in the melancholic air
They leave their beloved homeland in fear
And on the pole the flag, bloody and torn.

Dreams buried in the wounded terrain
And hearts broken into a thousand pieces
Pale faces lacerated by indescribable pain
And around the Death with his black horses.

Victims in this miserable and unfair world
They are always the innocent and good humans
Which give off a nice perfume through their soul
Either they are Israelis or Palestinians.

Oh Palestine, our soul is full of bitterness
For this terrible tragedy and savagery
Our planet is sinking into darkness
And in our eyes, anger and sadness.

Song title: The Tragedy of Palestine/Tragödie of Palestine

Interpretation by: Suno
Music-video by: Paul Zissakos
Lyrics by: Isidoros Karderinis

Isidoros Karderinis is a journalist accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece and a regular member of the country’s Foreign Press Correspondents’ Association. He is also a novelist, poet and lyricist.

Support our work by making a donation. Tap to download the QR code below and scan this QR code from Gallery by using TnG e-wallet or most banking apps: