Emtithal Mahmoud: A young poet tells the story of Darfur
امتثال محمود: شاعرة شابة تحكي قصة دارفور
Emtithal "Emi" Mahmoud dedicates her time to spreading understanding through poetry and advocacy, particularly for the cause of refugees and disadvantaged communities the world over. Full bio
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what the word "genocide" meant.
ماذا تعني كلمة "الإبادة الجماعية"
attacked because of their race --
بوحشية بسبب عرقه
of its own government.
speaking out against the crisis.
that it was destroying my parents.
ذلك كان يدمَر والديً
we are burying so many people.
10-year-old daughter,
ذات العشرة أعوام،
my first poem about Darfur.
أول قصيدة لي عن دارفور
to hear and see us,
يسمعوننا ويروننا،
the thing that changed me.
African woman with a scarf around my head,
إنني شابة إفريقية محجبة،
brutal of Monday mornings seem inviting.
الأكثر وحشيةً تبدو جاذبة.
that they deserve to be seen.
بأنهم يستحقون أن يكونوا مرئيين.
classroom one day,
صفوف مدرستي الثانوية
to give a presentation about Darfur.
تقديم عرض تقديمي عن دارفور.
when a classmate of mine said,
عندما قالت إحدى زميلاتي
and how it will make us feel?"
what to say to her,
ولم أعلم ما سأقول لها،
that I felt in that moment,
الذي شعرت به في تلك اللحظة،
not to talk about "this."
على عدم التحدث عن "ذلك."
and nights on the ground in Darfur,
على أرض دارفور،
would swallow any and all noise;
ستبتلع كافة الأصوات؛
deserve to be heard
started taking their seats
that I didn't deserve to be there,
بأنني لا أستحق أن أكون هناك،
mind, body and soul,
عقلًا وروحًا وجسدًا،
keenly aware of your own humanity.
واعيًا تمامًا بشأن إنسانيتك.
the power of witness,
under the weight of this stress.
تحت عبء كل هذا التوتر.
just left South Sudan.
on the heels my mother bought,
على الكعب الذي اشترته أمي،
to choose flight?
just found a grave
قد وجدت قبرًا
hold us together,
لم يعد بإمكانه جمعنا معًأ،
as if this isn't still happening,
their final stand
في موقفهم الآخير
full of fact sheets about our genocides,
مليئة بالحقائق عن إباداتنا الجماعية،
would swallow our voices.
as what you see on TV,
التي تظهر على التلفاز،
before the camera is on?
قبل أن تكون الكاميرا هناك؟
mothers forced to watch the slaughter?
وأن الأمهات أُجبروا على رؤية المذبحة؟
until our homes sank?
at the bite of the bomb?
kept the flames alive?
and an audience to swallow.
الجمهور وحزمة من الأسلاك.
with the putrid smoke of our deaths.
العفن المنبعث من موتنا.
أن يصبح كفنًا دفينًا
will you listen better?
هل ستستمع إليّ على نحوٍ أفضل؟
when the microphone does?
as if I'm saying my last?
وكأني أقول كلماتي الأخيرة؟
that this life has been:
to cry the most,
أبكي فيها معظم الأوقات
so as not to waste it on pain.
كي لا يضيّعها الألم.
a thief in a silo laugh
اللص يغرق في الضحك
out of sorrow.
بعيد عن الحزن.
enough remnants to leave.
من الخراب للمغادرة.
the borders of our broken homeland.
عبر حدود بلادنا المحطمة.
even the most bitter of times,
حتى على أكثر الأوقات مرارة،
days of laughing until I cried,
الضحك حتى بكيت،
involuntary human reactions,
ردود فعل بشرية لا إرادية،
we were in Sudan together,
في السودان معاً،
and French were not enough.
والعربية والفرنسية غير كافية.
أصبحت ضجيجًا فارغًأ،
that I've ever stood on,
وقفت عليها أهمية،
as a dowry to a relentless war
وقودًا لحرب بلا رحمة
to make pearls of this life;
الأشياء الجميلة من هذه الحياة؛
to not only laugh,
ألا أضحك فقط،
and saying, "Smile;
in a place like France,
poems on her deathbed --
إلى القصائد على سرير موتها --
and she made me feel like gold.
شعورًا رائعًا.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Emtithal Mahmoud - PoetEmtithal "Emi" Mahmoud dedicates her time to spreading understanding through poetry and advocacy, particularly for the cause of refugees and disadvantaged communities the world over.
Why you should listen
Emtithal "Emi" Mahmoud is the reigning 2015 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and 2016 Woman of the World Co-champion. One of BBC's 100 Most Inspirational Women of 2015, Mahmoud studied anthropology and molecular, cellular amd developmental biology at Yale University and is a Darfur native from the heart of Philadelphia.
A UNHCR High Profile Supporter, a Yale Global Health Fellow and Leonore Annenberg Scholar, Mahmoud dedicates her time to spreading understanding through poetry and advocacy, particularly for the cause of refugees and disadvantaged communities the world over. A closing speaker for Yale University's 2016 graduation ceremony, Mahmoud has part-taken in multiple White House round-table discussions, including a session with President Obama and has presented at multiple United Nations events, opening and closing for the Secretary General. In December 2016, she spoke at the Laureates and Leaders Summit in New Delhi and launched the 100 Million for 100 Million child advocacy campaign alongside the Dalai Lama, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Kailash Satyarthi and 14 other Nobel laureates and Leaders. A member of the Philanthropy Age "How to Do Good" speaking tour and a Hedgebrook writing fellow, Mahmoud has entered profound spaces across countless audiences -- spanning four continents in person and the entire international community digitally.
Emtithal Mahmoud | Speaker | TED.com