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APOLOGIES TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN LEBANON, by             Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography

June Jordan's "Apologies to All the People in Lebanon" is a poignant and devastating reflection on the human cost of political conflict, specifically addressing the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Dedicated to the Palestinian men, women, and children who lived in Lebanon from 1948 to 1983, the poem grapples with the speaker's personal responsibility and complicity, as well as the broader implications of American involvement in the violence.

The poem opens with an admission of ignorance: "I didn’t know and nobody told me and what / could I do or say, anyway?" This refrain runs throughout the poem, highlighting the speaker's sense of helplessness and the disconnection between the lived reality of the Palestinian people and the awareness (or lack thereof) of those far removed from the conflict. The repetition of this line serves to underscore the ongoing theme of ignorance and the limits of the speaker's perceived power to effect change.

Jordan meticulously recounts the justifications given for the Israeli actions and contrasts them with the brutal realities faced by the Palestinian and Lebanese populations. "They said you shot the London Ambassador / and when that wasn’t true / they said so / what / They said you shelled their northern villages / and when U.N. forces reported that was not true / because your side of the cease-fire was holding / since more than a year before / they said so / what." These lines reveal the disparity between propaganda and truth, exposing the indifference and callousness with which Palestinian suffering was dismissed.

The poem's vivid imagery and stark details convey the horrific consequences of the invasion: "they ravaged your / water supplies your electricity your / hospitals your schools your highways and byways all / the way north to Beirut... they cluster-bombed girls and boys / whose bodies / swelled purple and black into twice the original size / and tore the buttocks from a four month old baby." Jordan does not shy away from depicting the physical and emotional trauma inflicted upon innocent civilians, emphasizing the inhumanity of the violence.

Jordan further critiques the justification of these actions under the guise of self-defense: "they said this / was their quest for peace... they said / that is the noblest concept / of mankind isn’t that obvious?" This irony underscores the hypocrisy of using noble rhetoric to mask acts of atrocity, drawing attention to the moral dissonance between the stated goals and the actual outcomes of the invasion.

The poem also addresses the displacement of Palestinians, many of whom were driven from their homes: "Then they told you to leave, didn’t they? / Didn’t you read the leaflets that they dropped / from their hotshot fighter jets? / They told you to go." The bitter sarcasm in these lines highlights the cruelty of expecting people to simply abandon their lives and livelihoods with nowhere to go.

As the poem progresses, Jordan shifts to a more introspective tone, confronting the speaker's own complicity: "Yes, I did know it was the money I earned as a poet that / paid / for the bombs and the planes and the tanks / that they used to massacre your family." This acknowledgment of indirect involvement through tax dollars and economic contributions adds a layer of personal guilt and responsibility. The speaker’s reflection underscores the interconnectedness of global systems and the indirect ways in which individuals contribute to larger atrocities.

Jordan closes with a somber apology: "But I am not an evil person / The people of my country aren't so bad / You can expect but so much / from those of us who have to pay taxes and watch / American TV." This final attempt to mitigate personal responsibility reflects a common sentiment of detachment and passivity in the face of global suffering. However, it also serves as a critique of complacency and the moral limitations of claiming innocence through ignorance or helplessness.

"Apologies to All the People in Lebanon" is a powerful indictment of both the violence inflicted upon the Palestinian and Lebanese people and the broader systems of complicity that enable such atrocities. Through vivid imagery, biting irony, and personal introspection, Jordan challenges readers to confront the uncomfortable realities of global injustice and the ways in which we are all, to some extent, implicated.


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