I’m Thinking of Kaaj!

by Joya Noori
Translated by Asadullah Jafari “Pezhman”

The first day
Bullets, suicides, ambulances
Barchi, fear, terror, and panic
Newspapers, news, and television…

Everything smells
The smell of blood
The blood of Kaaj’s girls and the blood of knowledge
The blood of Tabasum and the blood of enlightenment…

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the wounded covered in blood
Of the Martyrs of “Maoud” institute
Of the martyrs of the “Kawsar” institute

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the tall Kaajs,
Of the fallen Kaajs in blood,
Of the painful Kaajs

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the green and stable Kaajs
With eyes staring at the news
Of eyes full of tears and expectation

I’m thinking of Kaaj
statistics; twenty, thirty, and forty…
Of the wounded Kaajs
Of the Kaajs left behind

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the grieving fathers
Of the bereaved mothers
Of the tired brothers and sisters
Looking forward to Marzia’s dreams
And Hagar’s dreams

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the martyrs floating in blood
Of Sayed Nasim, son of Sayed Sarwar
I’m thinking on Kaaj
Of the oppression of uncle Mohammad Tahir
Of his wishes in his last breaths

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of Zainab, Najiba and Umm al-Binin
Of Freshteh, Rihanna, and Nazanin

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the innocent and sinless martyrs
Of Madina, Nargis and Asadullah

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of Samira’s dreams
Of Shokriya and Zahra

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of Latifa, Rahila, and Marzia
Of Nazanin, Nasrin and Razia

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of Shahrabano and Shokriya
Of Nilofar and Mahdia

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the Hazara girls
Of the torn bodies
One, two, three, four…corpses
Marwa, Homeyra, and Aliza…

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the Hazara genocide
Of Shugofeh and Setara
Of Vahida and Bahara

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the green and beautiful Kaajs
Of Nargis, Anissa and Shakiba
Of Shabnam, Bas Bibi and Zahra
Of Belqis, Hangama and Shakila

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the Kaajs that have passed away
Of the martyrs of “Abd al-Rahim Shahid”
Of the martyrs of “Syed al-Shahda”

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of Hosnia, Saadia and Zahra
Of Laieqa, Faeza and Asma

I’m thinking of Kaaj
To the blood flowing like the sea
To Fatima, Freshteh, and Samira

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Of the girlish wishes of Shokriya
Of Sabera, Zainab, and Nadia

I’m thinking of Kaaj
Morning, noon, and evening…
Of the unknown nameless Kaajs
Of the Kaajs with a conscience

I’m thinking on Kaaj
Of the tall Kaajs
Of the fallen Kaajs in blood
Of the painful Kaajs!