Ahibaii by Julia Boutros, Anthem of Hope

I try to separate my work with games from the causes dear to my heart and soul.  I do not speak of politics in those areas where I know people are struggling with their own disabilities and troubles and use games as a type of therapy to deal with situations that can be almost impossible to bear on a personal level.

Nonetheless, my heart never has wavered in support of the Palestinian people and the Lebanese who embraced their brothers and sisters under Occupation and continue to defy attempts to encroach upon the Land of Lebanon.

The South of Lebanon historically has been the domicile of the poor and the oppressed, of a Shi'a minority who have suffered tremendously at the hands of sectarian violence and attempts at foreign invasion.

If you are not willing to look into the true facts of what the Israelis have done through the past century, then so be it, but I cannot deny the truth.  Even Israeli courts have judged their own leaders guilty of war crimes in the form of terrible massacres, collective punishment and theft of land and property.

When I was at University, I knew and loved a boy who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Lebanon.  He was not a political activist.  He wanted only to become a doctor one day, to help his people and write poetry, but when he went home for the Summer, he was killed by an Israeli bomb.   This is not why I became an activist, although his death tore my heart to shreds.  Justice is simply justice and once I studied the facts, I knew I could not ignore almost a century of terrible injustice towards the Palestinian people, aided and abetted by almost every Nation in the West at one point or another in time.  We are responsible, each and every one of us, if we do not speak out somewhere at some time against the propaganda and hypocrisy that has created a situation as bad as anything that happened in the Second World War.

Years ago, I cried with joy when I heard of the courage of the South against another attempt at a foreign invasion.  The South had been brought to its knees, had suffered again and again but with the steadfastness of Nasr'allah and Hizballah, they held off defeat and actually won the freedom of some of their prisoners.  It WAS a Victory of the oppressed against the Oppressor, of the poor against an enemy that held superiority only in wealth, weapons and the support of the misguided in some of the powerful governments of the West. It did not erase the horror of the massacre at Qana... or any of the other terrible losses suffered by the South, but it gave hope finally.

Julia Boutros is not a Muslim but she sees with great clarity the strength and honour of Nasrullah as a leader.  This is true Unity.  There is no hope for the future of the Arab Nation as long as sectarian issues divide and do the work of the enemy.

Ahibaii by Julia Boutros

أحبّائي
أحبائي
أحبائي
أحبائي

إستمعتُ إلى رسالتِكم وفيها العِزُّ والإيمان
فأنتم مِثلما قُلتُمْ رجالُ اللهِ في المَيدان

ووعدٌ صادقٌ أنتُم وأنتُم نصرُنا الآتي
وأنتم من جبالِ الشمسِ عاتيةٌ على العاتي

أحبائي
ااهههه أحبائي

بِكُم يتحرّر الأسرى بِكُم تتحرَّرُ الأرضُ
بقبضتِكم بغضبتِكم يُصان البيت والعِرضُ

بُناةُُ حضارةٍ أنتم وأنتم نهضةُ القيمِ
وأنتم خالدون كما خلودُ الأرز في القِممِ

وأنتم مجدُ أمَّتِنا وأنتم أنتمُ القادة
وتاجُ رؤوسِنا أنتم وأنتم أنتُم السادة

أحبّائي
أحبائي..

أقبِّلُ نُبْلَ أقدامٍ بها يتشرَّفُ الشَّرفُ
بِعزّةِ أرضِنا انغرسَتْ فلا تكبو وترتجفُ

بِكُم سنغيِّرُ الدُّنيا ويَسمعُ صوتَنا القدرُ
بِكُم نبني الغدَ الأحلى بِكُم نمضي وننتصرُ

Transliteration:

Ahiba'i
Ahiba'i
Ahiba'i
Ahiba'i

Istama'atu ila risalatikum wa fiha al 3izu wal iman
fa antom methlama 9ultom rijal Allah fel maydan

wa wa3don sadi9on antomwa antom nassruna al ati
wa antom min jibal a-chams 3atiyatun 3ala al 3ati

Ahiba'i
Ahhhh ahiba'i

Bikom yata7araru al asra bikom tata7araru al ardhu
Bi'abdhatikom, bighadhbatikom yussanu al baytu wal 3irdhu

Bunatu 7adharaten antom wa antom nahdhatu al 9iyami
wa antom khaliduna kama khouloudo al arazi fi al 9imami

Wa antom majdu ummatina wa antom antom al 9ada
wa taju ru2ussina wa antom antom as-sada

Ahiba'i
Ahiba'i

U9abilu nobl a9damin biha yatacharafu a-charafu
Bi3izzati ardhina ingharassat fala takbu wa tartajifu

Bikum sanurayru a-donia wa yasma3u sawtana al 9adaru
Bikum nabni al ghada al a7la bikum namdhi wa nantassiru

English Translation:

Oh my beloved ones! (4 times)

I listened to your message rich in splendour and faith.
You are as you said the men of Allah on the field of battle.
You are the true promise and you are our victory to come.
You are from the Mountains of the Sun,
Mightier than the Wind.

Oh my beloved ones!

Because of you the Land and our prisoners will be freed.
Because of your fist and your passion
Home and Honour will be defended.

You are the builders of civilisation and the reawakening of values.
And you are immortal
Like the immortality of our Cedar Trees.

You are the glory of our Nation.
You are our Leaders.
You are the crown on our heads and our warriors.

I kiss the nobility of your feet giving honour to Honour itself.
The feet that restored the honour of our Land,
So it will neither stumble nor tremble.

With you, we will change the world and destiny will be ours.
With you we will build a better tomorrow,
Move forward and succeed.

And not all People in the West supported the repeated invasions and greed of the Occupiers.  Here you see a stunning show of support of the messages of hope of Julia Boutros:

Julia in Concert, Muqawma and Alhibaii