The now-famous poem “If I must die” by Refaat Al-Areer was written to his daughter Shaymaa, who Refaat foresaw as his continued presence on this earth, even after his departure from it. Today, Israel murdered Shaymaa, her husband, and their newborn child, in a deliberate assassination.

 

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The now-famous poem “If I must die” by Refaat Al-Areer was written to his daughter Shaymaa, who Refaat foresaw as his continued presence on this earth, even after his departure from it. Today, Israel murdered Shaymaa, her husband, and their newborn child, in a deliberate assassination.

Shaymaa was an artist in her own right, whose calligraphy work was known to many in Gaza. She now joins Refaat as a martyr, along with her child who was not yet born at the time Israel murdered his grandfather Refaat. Shaymaa had maintained a WhatsApp group in loving memory of her father that included former students and readers of his works, and had shared in the group the pain of confronting the fact that her child would never know his grandfather.

As family and loved ones of Shaymaa and Refaat mourn yet another deep and shocking loss, we contend that Refaat and Shaymaa’s spirit live on in their people and in their nation. If they must die, then we must live. May their names and their memories be recalled at the hour of Palestine’s liberation.