Slit Lips
by Samih al-Qasim

I would have liked to tell you
The story of a nightingale that died.
I would have liked to tell you

The story...
       Had they not slit my lips.

(Translated by Abdullah al-Udhari. Victims of a Map. Al Saqi Book, 2005.)

Worries
(A Dream)
by Adonis

They arrived naked
Broke into the house
Dug a hole
Buried the children and left...

(Translated by Abdullah al-Udhari. Victims of a Map. Al Saqi Book, 2005.)

As the Republic of South Sudan approaches the third anniversary of its independence, the young nation has been making headlines again. This time, though, it’s for all the wrong reasons. The slaughter and displacement of unknown numbers of civilians over the last several months has sparked international debate over the need for intervention and revealed horrific stories of rape, mutilation, and torture.

I’m an English teacher. Not the kind that orchestrates discussions about literature in a classroom. I teach English as a second language from my computer to students around the world. I entered this profession during the Bush presidency’s grand finale: the recession. This was after the startup I worked for that helped businesses to be more successful went belly up. I had been looking for work for over a year. Me and millions of others. I was a single parent in the process of filling out financial aid papers for my son.