‘If I Must Die’
‘If I Must Die’ a poem by Refaat Alareer.
Refaat Alareer, killed by an IDF airstrike, on the 6th of December 2023, along with his brother and sister, and 3 of her children.
This photo series is a tribute to Refaat Alareer and his words - a testament to his love, his loss, and his fight.
April 2024
Dead Sea, Jordan
Creative Direction & Image | Layan Ghanem
‘If I Must Die’ by Refaat Alareer
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.