Here's a poem by Ehab Lotayef, poet, artist and activist. Basra is under British occupation in Iraq.

Basra

On a hot summer day
In the middle of winter
On a pleasant spring evening
Any day of the year,
year after year, it's been happening in Basra

No bombs in knapsacks
No faceless attacks
No doubledeck buses or underground tracks
No conference postponed
No speeches, no cameras
No one says "barbarians" when it happens in Basra

Downtown, in a suburb
In a slum or a ghetto
On a factory floor
In a classroom on campus
Details are irrelevant!
The dead won't be counted when dying in Basra

Ehab Lotayef
July 8, 2005