Why…

Published by Antonio Carlos Santini 23 de April de 2012

 

Beneath the walls of Heliopolis, raiders sack Egypt… Grief and misery feed the waters of the Nile. Copper spears are made to beg for bread with blood. Brothers kill brothers. The father has an enemy in his son. Hatred to the Pharaoh.

Because they are hungry…

Tsin-Che-Huang dominated the Kingdom of Tsu and destroyed the noblemen’s castles… His enemies were impaled by wooden skewers. But Tensin died and China stood up again. An eight year long firestorm burned from North to South.

Because they were hungry…

On the banks of the Tiber, fugitive slaves gather in bands… Spartacus makes the King’s throne quake. Citizens hire bodyguards. Eunus sets fire to Sicily. Peasant farmers flee to the city.

Because they are hungry …

Tiberius Gracchus witnesses the poor murdered for having to pay taxes to the rich… Better to live among barbarians who suffer the injustice of the powerful. The settlers become slaves. Small proprietors buckle under the weight of the latifundium. All cry out for justice.

Because they are hungry…

The aristocrats of France control the large estates … The first-born live off of their inheritances. Bread is not lacking on the castle table, nor is brioches. Tax extortion weighs heavily over the bourgeoisie. The men of the people raise in the air their shovels and picks, sabers and scythes. The Bastille will fall to the ground.

Because they are hungry…

The plains of Russia were mulched with the blood of the muzhiks … In humble villages they were bound to the land by the shackles of slavery. In St. Petersburg and imperial Moscow, magnificent palaces were erected. The ballets of Tchaikowsky filled the halls of aristocratic homes. In the Siberian prisons, conspirators reeked in their pits. The Czar’s guard opened fire on the workers.

Because they were hungry…

A human earthquake shakes El Salvador… From Ahuachapán to San Miguel, great grandchildren of the Mayan Nation carry their carbines. Cotton planters take aim behind barricades.  Normal school dreamers sleep on the on the mountain peaks of Chalchuapa. Coffee harvesters are buried in a common ditch.

Because they are hungry…

The blacks of Harlem raise their fists, clenched in the air…

The settlers of Ribeirão, in Pernambuco, listen to the Italian priest…

The pawns of the Jirau hydroelectric dam destroy their lodgings…

Why?

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