Silence kills – A Call for Gaza


In streets of ash and cries and fear,
where once the sun would shine so clear,
life lies in ruins, crushed and torn,
by bombs and fire, grief and scorn.
A child that weeps, a mother screams,
for all the loss of shattered dreams.
No place to play, no place to be,
just fear and war’s insanity.
And we? We watch, we scroll, we know,
each headline part of what we show.
We count the dead, we turn away,
yet every number had a birthday.
O leaders, crowned with voice and might,
where is your truth, your moral light?
Is peace a word to calm the crowd,
while silence hides the screams too loud?
In 40 –45 the world looked down,
while trains passed through each silent town.
The silence killed – we know that well,
yet none had dared the truth to tell.
“Never again,” we swore so loud,
when smoke had cleared from war’s dark cloud.
But now we see the same unfold –
will “We did not know” again be told?
No child deserves a grave this small,
no people crushed beneath it all.
Our shared humanity’s at stake –
and silence is a cruel mistake.
So rise, speak out, don’t turn your face.
Let justice break through hate’s embrace.
The time is now – the cost is clear.
A voice can heal what bombs bring near.

©Isabelle Vandemaele – www.woordaccent.be