Trump orders withdrawal of American troops that are a buffer
between Bashar al-Assad and Erdogan protecting the Kurds
Hevrin Khalef a senior feminist Kurdish politician
Secretary-General of the Future Syria Party
that believes in pluralism and equal rights for women
in a democratic home to millions of Kurds
betrayed by Trump who left them to the wolves / a war crime
soon forgotten / six years work undone in six days

a barrage of bullets / head riddled with gunshot wounds
some close range / shots to the back / face fractures
hit repeatedly with the butt of a rifle / both legs broken
dragged by the hair until it parted with her scalp
executed at a checkpoint in Syria by Jihadists mercenaries
former ISIS prisoners who believe women inferior to men
shouting film me film me as they shoot already dead bodies
Turkey claims the vehicle struck by the Syrian Air Force
sensationalist Italians’ report raped and stoned to death
fake news to further debase a clever and gentle woman
the Turks broadcast Khalef neutralized! a success!

jenni nixon

 

Listen to jenni reading ‘collateral damage’ (1:31)

 

jenni nixon is a sydney writer − readings at diverse venues include Sydney Town Hall, writers festivals, pubs and bookshops – ‘swimming underground’ published (Ginninderra Press 2015) – recently in Southerly, Cordite, 6 poems Rochford Street Press.

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