Mahmoud Darwish at Bethlehem University

Brother Daniel Casey and Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish

On Friday 7 April 2006, and one hour before the designated time thousands of persons were heading to Bethlehem University Auditorium to reserve their seats waiting for the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish to show up. Since the year 2000 Bethlehem University Auditorium has never seen an audience with this magnitude, which is due to the popularity of Mahmoud Darwish. There was a traffic jam and policeman were busy trying to organize the flow of traffic.

Brother Daniel Casey, Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University, attended the event together with many prominent persons interested in poetry from the district of Bethlehem.

Among these were the Mayor of Bethlehem, Dr. Victor Batarseh, governor of Bethlehem District, Mr. Salah Ta’mari, Minister of Tourism and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Before the arrival of the poet, the audience were entertained by Amir Issa Murad who played the Oud, later Mr Mahmoud Darwish took the stage and started his fervent words among continuous clapping by the audience. For two hours the audience enjoyed several poems both patriotic and romantic that expressed the difficulties of daily life of the Palestinian people under occupation.

At the end, Brother Daniel Casey presented Mr. Mahmoud Darwish with a special plaque, and the whole event was carried live on Aljazeera network and many local TV stations. This event was in cooperation with Bethlehem Peace Center and Arab Women Society.

Photos by Rami Hazboun