Soma (15.07.12, Tel Aviv)

[the facade]

Soma (15.07.12, Tel Aviv)

Yesterday, a man
set himself on fire
having been
pushed and peddled
into a matchstick.

Today, we remember
this man and light
a fire to his stalk.
Peddled for poetry
Peddled for porn
Peddled for scorn,
his fumes are pushed
and rise like an opiate
to our political noses,
in the haze

forgetting that man
a man, set himself on fire.

[Bar22do]

Do you believe the world know about this "incident"??? ah, how sad. And your poem a touching hommage, the façade!

[the facade]

Thank you Bar, as always, for your kindness.

And without turning this forum into one of politics - nah, I doubt it.

[Buh4Bee]

No, of course we don't hear about it! Nice to hear about the inceident through your poem though, Facade. It's a brutal world out there with all these massacres happening.

[Jack of Hearts]

Haven't heard a word about it. It's a beautiful poem though façade.





J

[Adolescent09]

Thank you Bar, as always, for your kindness.

And without turning this forum into one of politics - nah, I doubt it.

This is terrible but it happens every day around us. If it isn't God's clandestine hand that always seems to be against us in the form of natural illnesses it's people burning themselves alive to escape this hell on earth. My condolences go out to the family/friends effected by the actions of the person(s) in your poem.

[the facade]

JoH, Adolescent09 - thanks guys.

It is a really tragic story. During the anniversary celebration/demonstration of the social justice movement, one man - named Moshe Silman - self-immolated. He had been recognized by the welfare council as effectively unfit for work following contraction of a disease, but the welfare aid that he received was insufficient for basic living standards, let alone to cover the bills he had accumulated during his plight. Despite a honorary discharge from the army, serving in the reserves, being an upstanding citizen, he received nothing in return. He was forced to take two jobs, despite his handicap, but was later forced to quit since his driver's license was revoked due to overdue bills. Helpless, he made that decision.

What shocked me the most (not out of some great surprise) was that immediately after the incident, he was made into a political tool by the opposing sides - the government exemplified him as the detriments of the left while the justice movement rushed to make a martyr out of him. Granted - what he did was a political act. Still, he had quickly been reduced to nothing but a symbol, especially by the people politically affiliated with him.

Tragic.

It is rather strange that events of that nature are not covered by the international media, although 750,000 people demonstrated in last year's protest - what must have been one of the largest demonstrations for social justice in recent history.