From Chile To Palestine - If I Should Die: Comrade Refaat, Present (Si He De Morir: Compañero Refaat, Presente)
My cousin and I have produced this piece as a tribute to the Palestinian poet and educator Refaat Alareer. It features on a compilation raising money for a charity working on the ground in Gaza.
Late last year my friend Jamie Groovement put a call out for contributions for ‘De Chile A Palestina’ (‘From Chile To Palestine’), the latest compilation he was coordinating in support of humanitarian aid for Palestine. He had already put together the compilations ‘From Sheffield To Palestine’, ‘From Birmingham to Palestine’ and ‘From Leeds to Palestine’.
Artwork by Jamie Groovement.
While I am a music fanatic, I am not a musician and have never produced music. However, I felt compelled to contact my talented Spain-based hip-hop producer cousin Alex Oliver, aka Chylez, (also the son of Chilean political exiles) with some ideas for a piece we could work on for this compilation. The result is ‘Si He De Morir: Compañero Refaat, Presente (‘If I Should Die: Comrade Refaat, Present’), a tribute to the Palestinian poet and educator Refaat Alareer who was murdered by Israeli government forces on 6 December 2023 as part of the ongoing genocide it is committing in Gaza.
The word ‘Present’ in the title refers to a what people do in Chile and elsewhere in Latin America to remember left-wing figures who have been killed or died. It means that while they are gone, they are still present in our hearts and their legacy lives on.
Alex and I have released the piece under the name Brega and the title of the piece includes the title of ‘If I Should Die’, the poem written by Alareer that he had pinned on his X (Twitter) account when he was killed.
The excerpts of Alareer’s voice on the song are taken from this Electronic Intifada video, one of the last times he spoke publicly in English before his murder.
As Jamie explains on the compilation’s homepage:
“Chileans and Palestinians have a long shared history. Chileans from around the world, and others in solidarity, have contributed tracks to this compilation, available until 31st March only.”
You can listen to Jamie talk about this compilation on this radio show in aid of Palestine hosted by my friend Darren, aka DJ Kalinka (go to the 30 minute mark in the show).
Chile is in fact home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East.
You can watch a talk I gave on this connection for a Palestinian Return Centre online event in December 2022 via the link here.
Below is the Spanish translation of the poem ‘If I Should Die by Refaat Alareer’ that I used for the reading. My father Roberto Navarrete made some small amendments to a translation by DorothyPS I found on Twitter.
Si He De Morir - Refaat Alareer
Si he de morir
tu debes vivir
para contar mi historia
para vender mis cosas
para comprar un trozo de tela
y unos hilos,
(hazlo blanco con una cola larga)
así un niño en algún lugar de Gaza
mientras mira el cielo en sus ojos
esperando a su padre que se fue en una llamarada-
y a nadie dijo adiós
ni siquiera a su carne
ni siquiera a si mismo-
vea el volantín, el volantín que hiciste, volando allá arriba
y piense por un momento que hay un ángel ahí
que regresa trayendo amor
Si he de morir
que esto traiga esperanza
que sea una historia
Rest in power comrade Refaat Alareer.
Social media links about this post: X (formerly Twitter) // Facebook // Instagram
Tomorrow 1 March 2024 is a Bandcamp Friday, which means that if you buy the ‘De Chile A Palestina’ compilation then all the proceeds will go to the the Restless Beings charity the compilation is fundraising for.
Click here to listen to ‘Brega - Si He De Morir: Compañero Refaat, Presente’ (03:07)