From the Flames of the Struggle

A wondrous woman's voice from the land of our wounded sister, Palestine — a voice with a lump of grief in it, and many colors. "The Woman's Voice" is proud of this noble voice, the voice of the great woman of letters, Miss Fayza Abdul Majeed, as it returns and rises anew... from the flames of the sacred struggle.

Here I am, returning to write for "The Woman's Voice" after a struggle that took up the greater part of my time; after calamities that sapped our resolve and left our hearts bleeding; and after pure souls poured themselves out upon the soil of the homeland, that their sacrifice — alas for them, or for us! — should go for naught.

We were waiting for that day — May 15 — burying the martyrs, binding up the wounds, draining the cups of injustice with a patient faith, urging time to hasten its coming, in the hope that it might bring us the light of freedom and deliverance; when lo, all-conquering fate was tracing out for Palestine her terrible destiny, and tyrannical colonialism was aiming its blows at her... and the arrows struck home, like a thunderbolt!.. Colonialism wished to humble Palestine, so that she would submit to its enslavement anew; so it plotted against her what it plotted... and drove against her its unjust cunning... And we awoke — oh, the horror — to see the flourishing, prosperous homeland with the banner of Arabism folded away from it, save for one small part; to see a proud nation plunging down to the depths of humiliation, despair, and destitution, its very humanity squandered, even to beggary...

Thirty years of struggle vanished into the folds of nothingness; nay, a history of thirteen centuries, which Arabism had woven with its blood, its shadows now withdrawing from the Holy Land; and harsher still than this, the very foundations that were, and remain, the beacon of inspiration for us after every calamity came near to perishing — for the wellspring of national faith — the source of strength and life for peoples — has run dry in men's souls, or nearly so!

... And now: I reckon that "The Woman's Voice" cares above all else to follow the steps of the Arab woman in this struggle.

For that reason I shall now set before you a brief report on the extent of that activity, which I offer along with this article, so that you may confirm from it — if you wish — what illumines her renaissance and casts light on how deeply national consciousness has penetrated her feelings in this immortal contest between slavery and freedom, between death and life!

Yes: from the moment the alarm bell rang and the partition of Palestine was decreed, she took up the banner of the struggle. She was seen organizing demonstrations, delivering speeches, and fanning the fire of patriotism in hearts; her organizations likewise took the lead in guidance and defense, and the statements of the Women's Union in Jerusalem and Nablus kept pace with the statements of the men's national bodies in both cities.

The associations in every city formed squads for first aid and nursing, and then, at the last, for the relief of the refugees and the needy. Out of their own funds they founded fully equipped hospitals for the wounded, and the women of noble families took upon themselves the service of the wounded, keeping vigil by night and toiling by day, rendering them every service, however great... The Union in Nablus took yet another step forward by training a first-aid squad for the field — on the firing lines — its training entrusted to one of the distinguished physicians of the Iraqi command, Dr. Hamdi al-Sharif.

It goes without saying that the Palestinian woman was seeking, through this contest, her full freedom, to prove her personality... No wonder, then, that we saw her shattering those fetters, while there were the orators themselves calling upon her to take the head of the ranks of the struggle, like her Arab sisters who have left a glorious and eloquent mark in the register of Arab history...

Woman has worked in almost complete freedom, and she still carries on her silent struggle. The Union in Nablus has provided clothing to some 1,500 families of needy refugees; it likewise supplies the maternity clinic of the Iraqi Red Crescent with clothes for the newborn among the displaced; and it is now discharging its duty of visiting the fighters on the firing lines, to present them with gifts of the clothing it sews and other things... This is besides what the Union's office does to raise morale and to prove woman's living influence in the liberation of peoples, through the appeals, statements, and speeches it issues! As for the village woman, her absolute freedom sufficed to drive her to every line — in revolt, in defense, offering her efforts to the fighters with all the true patriotism and faith she possesses.

I return now to the article submitted, "The Emigrant's Song." I prepared it for Christmas especially for "The Woman's Voice" — and if it is delayed until next month, no matter. Although I shoulder the direction of the Union's office with all its burdens, not to mention my other writing for the press, I give my preference to "The Woman's Voice," for the eloquent message it carries to the Eastern woman, and for the lofty aim and refined taste that shine forth in it: in expression and in art, in matter and in meaning...

The article — as you see — is an outpouring from the very heart of feeling; nay, it is a brand from the fire of the ordeal in which souls and bodies and precious hopes have been smelted...

"The Woman's Voice" has reminded me of another voice, strong and dear: the newspaper al-Hayat, which published an announcement of the magazine some weeks ago! Do its owners know how their cries used to shake our hearts? The names of Messrs. Mroue, Hibbi, and Daqqaq will remain among the immortal banners of honor in the struggle for Palestine. Would the gentleman kindly convey to them, from me — nay, from the wounded country — nay [...]

to the press in general, for the sincerity of its struggle, this heartfelt salute?! Perhaps I shall be able to write for "The Woman's Voice" from now on, and how glad I should be to know whether these subjects win your full approval, or whether you prefer to them social studies concerning woman, the child, and the family. As for me, my specialty — in times of revolution only — is almost wholly the bearing of this banner: purely national writing, and I know it well; in peacetime I take up other subjects without restriction. And since I know that the Arab contest against sinful Zionism is one unbroken chain of links from the Two Rivers to the Nile, I have judged these the fittest subjects to write on; the writers ought not to be in one valley and the public feeling in another — rather, we can only draw from that sacred inspiration.

Nablus — Palestine