His name was Saber
Saber has no fear
His name means I shall persevere
Saber is a Palestinian
Born in a refugee camp
He is stateless,
The son of a stateless,
The son of a stateless

His son’s name is Nidal
Nidal does not buckle
His name means I shall struggle
Nidal is also stateless
Four generations of statelessness,
Of denial,
Of existence and resistance,
Of longing and belonging,
Of being and speaking

Four generations living
In misery and humiliation,
In suffering and occupation,
In dispossession and transgression

Four generations under systemic attack
To crush their dignity
And strip their humanity
To uproot their identity
And build their enmity

Four generations of Diaspora
Of hopelessness and despair
To break their spirit with no repair

Throughout the years
A thick line has become
Thinner and thinner
With every generation
The line is fading between
Living and dying
Laughing and crying
Wedding and mourning
Slavery and bravery
Love and hate
A determined will
Or surrendering to fate
Sacrifice and starvation
Ignorance and education
Forgiveness and retribution
Reform and revolution
Geography and history
Reality and mystery

The world has bought the big lie
And turned a blind eye
Thou shall not exist
Thou shall have no identity papers
And shall not travel
Thou shall be stopped at all borders
The judge has slammed his gavel

But this generation is in fury
Waiting indefinitely
For the verdict from the jury

The occupation is in
Full throttle
The genie is out
Of the bottle
Daring to resist
To raise its fist
To say no and insist
To speak out and persist
To care for each other and assist
To unite and enlist
To conquer the fears
And stop shedding tears
To silence the pains
And consolidate the gains
To confront the terror
And fix the error

Meanwhile, Nidal just had a son
Born in the same refugee camp
Fifth generation stateless
But with a renewed will
That is stern
His name was Aāed
It means I shall return