"If I Must Die" – a poem by Refaat Alareer

Refaat Alareer was killed this week by Israeli forces. We share his poem.

If I must die,

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up

above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

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In a DM exchange with Refaat in October, Katie asked “Is there anything we can do from over here?” He responded, “Thank you for offering. More pressure on the media. More coverage. More Palestinian voices. More protests. Hopefully, Israel is curbed.”

Watch our full interview with Refaat here, in which he bravely spoke out from Gaza while sheltering 15 children in his apartment.

Keep sharing his message, keep exposing the truth.