Ramallah – Ma’an – Amid a large crowd, and under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Abdul Raouf Rawabdeh, the “Palestine International Foundation” and “Modern Schools” commemorated on the latter’s stage in Amman on Wednesday evening, September 18, 2024, through a poetry and singing evening, the tenth anniversary of the passing of the “poet of resistance”, the great Palestinian Arab poet Samih al-Qasim, in partnership with the Samih al-Qasim Foundation.

In his brief speech, Dr. Asaad Abdul Rahman welcomed the sponsor of the ceremony, His Excellency Dr. Rawabdeh, the distinguished guests, and the family of Samih al-Qasim, each and every one of whom were at the forefront of the participants. Then Dr. Asaad spoke about his deep and beloved friendship with the great deceased that extended since the seventies of the last century, recalling many of the positive and captivating qualities that distinguished him from many of the creative personalities and great poets he knew and hosted over the years since the sixti
es of the last century, describing him as ‘a fedayeen in poetry and struggle, and a well-mannered person in secret and in public, and balanced in behavior and creativity,’ as well as, ‘far removed from the moodiness and undesirable (impetuousness) that great poets boast about or that is what is known about them,’ discussing the distinction of Samih’s resistant poetry and his courage in confrontation, asking him for forgiveness that ‘he always sought and chanted in his hymns.’

For his part, after thanking the sponsor of the ceremony and the mayor of Zarqa, Eng. Imad Al-Momani, the son, Watan Samih Al-Qasim, spoke about the difficulty and bitterness of losing the poet father, and about the recent work of the ‘Samih Al-Qasim Foundation’ in seeking to spread Al-Qasim’s cultural legacy globally, and to preserve it through a museum planned for his village. Then, Watan expressed his feelings of love towards the large audience, pointing out that his father was born in the city of Zarqa and was often referred to as:
Samih Al-Zarqawi.

The evening’s segments covered many aspects of Al-Qassem’s literary life, and included bouquets of patriotic songs by the great resistance poet and his peers, sung by the distinguished artist Fawz Shaqeer, who excelled amidst the enthusiasm of the audience. Videos were also shown of Al-Qassem’s poems in his melodious voice that took the audience, carried them with his vocabulary, soaring, then descended with them with extreme delicacy. The master of ceremonies also recited some of Samih’s poems and praised his biography.

Finally, the evening witnessed a remarkable attendance, and ended with Dr. Asaad Abdul Rahman presenting a certificate of appreciation to the family of the deceased with the participation of the poet’s wife, Mrs. Nawal Al-Qassem, and another certificate by the creative artist Fawz Shaqeer on behalf of the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors of both the ‘Palestine International Foundation’ and ‘Modern Schools.’

Source: Maan News Agency