A Tale of Apartheid and Settler Colonialism: House Demolitions in Kashmir and Palestine

Kashmiri protesters wave Palestine flags above graffiti by artist Mudasir Gul in Indian-administered Kashmir.

By Tazeen Hasan

In two far-off lands, on opposite sides of the earth,
A story of destruction, of homes and hearth,
Kashmir and Palestine, both places we know,
Where houses are razed, and families made to go.

In Kashmir, the army rolls in with tanks and guns,
Bulldozers and explosives, the job has begun,
They give no warning, no time to pack,

As they shatter the walls, and the roof they hack.

In Palestine, it's the Israeli army's might,
The bulldozers come, day or night,
With no care for the people, who call it home,

Their houses are leveled, to the ground they're thrown.

Both places are scarred, by these acts of violence,
As families are left, with no place to find solace,
Their memories, their dreams, their hopes and their fears,

Are crushed, shattered, in a flood of tears.

The world looks on, with a deafening silence,
As the people of Kashmir and Palestine,
Are left to bear, the brunt of this hate,

Their stories, their pain, they cannot abate.

Yet, amidst all this, they rise up again,
With a resilience that's hard to contain,
Their spirit, their strength, they will not yield,

For in their hearts, a flame still burns, unhealed.

So, let us stand with them, in their darkest hour,
And lift our voices, with all our power,
To tell the world, that we will not be still,

Till their houses are rebuilt, on the same old hill.