Poem and analysis questions

1. RAFEEF ZIADAH is a Canadian-Palestinian artist and activist. In this poem she describes being interviewed by
an American television during the recent attacks on Gaza.
We teach life, Sir TV’dmassacre= massacro adattato per la TV
Today, my body was a TV’d massacre. To fit = adattarsi
Today, my body was a TV’d massacre that had to fit into counter measured response = rispostacontromisurata
sound-bites and word limits. at the tip of my tongue = sullapuntadella lingua
Today, my body was a TV’d massacre that had to fit into
sound-bites and word limits filled enough with statistics to 1. Who does the Sir in the title refer to?
counter measured response. 2. What do you think a Tv’d massacre is?
And I perfected my English and I learned my UN 3. Why does she say that her body is a Tv’d
resolutions. massacre?
But still, he asked me, Ms. Ziadah, don’t you think that 4. What do the sound bites represent?
everything would be resolved if you would just stop 5. Why did she learn English?
teaching so much hatred to your children? 6. Underline the journalist’s question. Which
Pause. stereotypes are contained in it?
I look inside of me for strength to be patient but patience is 7. What is Rafeef’s reaction?
not at the tip of my tongue as the bombs drop over Gaza.
Patience has just escaped me.
Pause. Smile.
We teach life, sir.
Rafeef, remember to smile.
Pause.
We teach life, sir. 8. What about life do Palestinians teach the rest
We Palestinians teach life after they have occupied the of the world?
last sky.
We teach life after they have built their settlements and
apartheid walls, after the last skies.
We teach life, sir.
But today, my body was a TV’d massacre made to fit into 9. Why does she start this sentence with the
sound-bites and word limits. word “but”?
And just give us a story, a human story. 10. Who is speaking in this stanza?
You see, this is not political. 11. What does he want?
We just want to tell people about you and your people so 12. What shouldn’t she mention? Why?
give us a human story.
Don’t mention that word “apartheid” and “occupation”.
This is not political.
You have to help me as a journalist to help you tell your
story which is not a political story.
Today, my body was a TV’d massacre.
How about you give us a story of a woman in Gaza who bone-brokenlimbs= arti dalle ossa spaccate
needs medication?
How about you? 13. What kind of stories is he interested in?
Do you have enough bone-broken limbs to cover the sun?
Hand me over your dead and give me the list of their
names in one thousand two hundred word limits.

2. Today, my body was a TV’d massacre that had to fit into
sound-bites and word limits and move those that are To move = commuovere
desensitized to terrorist blood. Desensitized = senzasensibilità
14. Who does “those” refer to?
15. Who are the terrorists she refers to?
But they felt sorry. Cattle = bestiame
They felt sorry for the cattle over Gaza.
So, I give them UN resolutions and statistics and we To vent out words= dare sfogo alle parole
condemn and we deplore and we reject.
And these are not two equal sides: occupier and occupied. 16. What does she tell the journalist?
And a hundred dead, two hundred dead, and a thousand 17. Why does she remind herself to smile?
dead.
And between that, war crime and massacre, I vent out
words and smile “not exotic”, smile “not terrorist”.
And I recount, I recount a hundred dead, two hundred
dead a thousand dead.
Is anyone out there? 18. Who is she addressing?
Will anyone listen?
I wish I could wail over their bodies. Wail = piangere
I wish I could just run barefoot in every refugee camp and Barefoot = scalza
hold every child, cover their ears so they wouldn’t have to Hold = tenere in braccio
hear the sound of bombing for the rest of their life the way
I do. 19. What does she wish?
Today, my body was a TV’d massacre
And let me just tell you, there’s nothing your UN 20. What is her opinion about the role of the UN?
resolutions have ever done about this.
And no sound-bite, no sound-bite I come up with, no 21. What is her main regret (dispiacere)?
matter how good my English gets, no sound-bite, no
sound-bite, no sound-bite, no sound-bite will bring them
back to life.
No sound-bite will fix this.
We teach life, sir. 22. What effect does the final repetition of the
We teach life, sir. title achieve?
We Palestinians wake up every morning to teach the rest
of the world life, Sir.