Poetic Portraits of a Revolution

PPR2011: TSA Scene

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:57:02 -0400

PPR2011: TSA Scene

PPR2011: Aya Chebbi

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:02:56 -0400

PPR2011: Aya Chebbi

PPR2011: Sahar El-Nadi

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:10:00 -0400

PPR2011: Sahar El-Nadi

Photo

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:07:01 -0500

PPR2011: Mustafa Marwan

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:28:35 -0500

PPR2011: Mustafa Marwan

Photo

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:31:16 -0400

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Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:03:10 -0400

[PRESS] The Technician NCSU

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:01:28 -0400

Check out PPR in NC State’s newspaper The Technician where Mohammad and Sameer talk about their experiences this summer.

http://www.technicianonline.com/features/a-summer-of-civil-rights-and-unrest-1.2610218

[PRESS] Chapel Hill News

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:57:35 -0400

Check out PPR in the Chapel Hill news with our poem from Egypt “Finding Meaning” and photo from Sameer.

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2011/08/17/66237/finding-meaning.html

WUNC interviewed us soon after we arrived home. Check out the...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:22:12 -0400

WUNC interviewed us soon after we arrived home. Check out the interview above or listen to it on WUNC’s website.

[POEM] 7th WUNC Piece

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:58:16 -0400

Ramadan is the lunar month when Muslim’s fast from sunrise to sunset
No food or water
Distancing yourself from the material world is meant to recharge you spiritually

Many have given up more than food and water this year
I can’t imagine how Mabruka Mbarki must have felt
the first month without her 16 year old son
after he was killed by police,
his memory lives on in songs of those who stood by him in protest
My mother used to tell me
how much it bothered her when people would
avoid mentioning my sister’s name after she passed away
So I understood when Mrs. Mubarki
thanked us profusely just for asking to hear her son’s story

and spoke
reopening a vault of memories
whose lock most would not have been brave enough to tamper with
her collar bones slanting downward like ledges leaning
under the footsteps
of optimism
tiptoeing towards the edge
ready to jump
‘cause the death of a child
can be suicide
for a last hope
she exhaled deeply
and all her life seemed to come up out of her
her last gasp of oxygen throwing itself from balcony of her lips
as she tried to catch her breath
and our hearts sank
slowly as a single tear down the cheek of a father
into the graveyard of his jawline
like foreshadowing of his son’s burial the next morning

His voice quivered as he confessed with a smile struggling to form
“There is no celebration as joyful as a martyr’s funeral”
another tear falls from the crack in his composure
and crashes from his chin
the same way I imagine his sons body collapsed to the ground
when they shot him in the back
his fathers hand catches the runaway drop
cradles it in his palm
and balls the emotion back up
He reminds me of my father
and how I try to downplay the dangers I slip myself into
because I don’t want him to worry
to be honest I’ve never seen him cry
even at his own father’s funeral
but the reversal of fate is much harder to swallow
they say the worst nightmare is when a parent buries their child
the thought alone leaves a lump in my throat
and an after taste of reprisal under this man’s tongue
he demands justice be handed to the murderer who took his son
but somehow
he wears it with a smile and firm handshake that says
“Don’t worry about me
my child is in a better place”
I hope my father never has to say the same

That type of sacrifice is too much for some
like the mother of a 14 year-old killed just weeks ago before we met
she sat broken and upset
she told us “The Revolution did nothing for me,
it only took my child”
I could tell this wasn’t her normal face
you see my Mother grew up during the Lebanese civil war
and her expression always changes when she talks about conflict and pain
Whatever the reason for a bullet being shot, the emotions it triggers are often the same
And the residue it leaves behind is filled with memories that might not go away
These are lessons I thought I knew
But when I sat in front of this mother
I was barely equipped to look her in the eyes
Ramadan is a time of patience
and Tunisia has known this all too well for the past 23 years
we’ve only been away from our families for 2 months
but with every “Good Luck” and “Safe Travels” at the end of an email
I know what they really mean is “please make sure you come home”

- Kane Smego, Will McInerney, Mohammad Moussa

[PRESS] WRAL News Online

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:53:32 -0400

Check out PPR on WRAL.com! Help us keep spreading the word by talking to local media about the project!

http://www.wral.com/news/image/9961314/

[PRESS] CNN iReport

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:26:52 -0400

Check out the PPR video “The Poems Already Written” on CNN.com via iReport!

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-647398

Listen to the 7th and final poem from our series with WUNC. You...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:01:00 -0400

Listen to the 7th and final poem from our series with WUNC. You can also listen to it and “like” it on the WUNC Website. Thanks so much to everyone who has continued to support us on the radio the past two months. To see a collection of all seven poems check out the PPR page on WUNC here.

[POEM] 6th WUNC Piece

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:59:11 -0400

It’s hard to describe the energy inside a sunset
Or better yet the feeling of sand as it sits in your hands
I’ve never been able to describe what it’s like to absorb
The portraits on earth that have erupted from mother-nature’s core
And for our time here in North Africa
We’ve seen amazing sights
And we’ve met extraordinary people whose greatness
Hangs like medallions from their necks
But it’s hard to describe the outstanding when it’s subtle
Or to explain the incredible when it’s subdued
So I’m not sure how to tell you what Ayya is like
24 years old
Arab, Muslim, African, woman
any and all expectations crumble around her
like the ruins of Carthage that line the coast here
and stereotypes splinter beneath her feet
like thin ice over an ocean of misconceptions
that she is fully prepared to dive headfirst into
cuz, the phoenix feathers in her hair will dry up every last drop of ignorance
long before she has to hold her breath
or her tongue
which is not something she’s not very good at
it can argue fluently in 3 languages
has an appetite for freedom
and abhors the taste of silence
if it hadn’t been for her
we would have likely lost our camera to undercover police
last week that wore their aggression pinned to their chests
in place of a badge
back in the states
there are students taking notes in lectures
on terms she uses to describe the demands of her people
while they stay up nights in libraries writing term papers
she and her peers are staging sit-ins in city centers
to make sure this semester doesn’t end like the last one
I watched her pride pour from her eyes
as she recalled the news of January 14
that the overseer living in the president’s palace for the last 23 years
had finally fled the plantation
she and the youth that led this revolution are sewing new crops
that belong to them this time
but the work is hard
the summer is hot
and the fields are still filled with police who are twice Ayya’s size and age

but she is unmoved
a revolutionary firecracker with a burning smile
gunpowder in her eyes
and lashes that stitch together into a fuse which burnt a house of cards
to the ground with conviction
until all that was left was a one way plane ticket for the king turned joker
because the revolution in Tunisia was ignited by the youth
thousands like Ayya who’s dreams were too bright
for Ben Ali’s henchmen to censor and smoke out
like Mohammad Bouazizi
the 26 year old fruit vendor who’s body was the first match
like El General
a 21 year old rapper who’s voice for justice fanned the flames from a prison cell
and like Mouhamed Hanchi
who’s body became one of over 300 reminders of why the youth will never turn back
an ember of inspiration that burns in Ayya’s eyes to this day
the ground in Tunisia is covered in wax and the burnt remains of the past
tears have been shed, blood has been spilled
but you can still hear the flames flickering behind her tongue

[WUNC] Morning Edition Poem

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:27:00 -0400

Check out the 7th poem from the PPR crew tomorrow on “Morning Edition” on WUNC 91.5 FM.

[1shot] 71511

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:11:34 -0400

The best couscous in Tunisia.

[1shot] 71507

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:08:42 -0400

The ruins of Carthage, Tunisia

[1shot] 71505

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:53:00 -0400

Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia - one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen…

[PRESS] Chapel Hill News

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:51:36 -0400

PPR was just honored in the “Roses” section of the Chapel Hill News today. We continue to be grateful to the fullest extent for all the community support for this project!

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2011/08/03/65953/roses-and-raspberries.html