September 16, 2010
Palestine Liberation Organization
General Delegation to the United States
On the 28th anniversary of the crimes against humanity perpetrated against the residents of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon, the General Delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization to the United States sends our thoughts and prayers to the victims and survivors of this terrible tragedy.
Twenty-eight years ago today the slaughter of as many as 2000 defenseless Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Phalangist militia began as their allies and patrons in the Israeli army surrounded the camps and watched.
Twenty-eight years later the individuals responsible for this crime have yet to face justice. Twenty-eight years later the survivors continue to struggle with their pain and loss.
On this somber occasion we remember those whose lives were cut so tragically short, and we seek solace in words of the great Mahmoud Darwish:
Come to me wherever you are
Whatever you have become
And return color to my cheeks
And meaning to my being
Return and take me into your eyes
Take an olive branch
Take a verse of my tragedy
A toy
Take a stone from our house
So that our descendants
Will remember their way home
~~~
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