Abou-Al-kacem El-chebbi was a prominent Tunisian poet, because he wrote a lot of poems about patriotism and the need to strive for the better lives no matter how strong the political regime in Tunisia was. Almost a century later his poems are still relevant, because colonialism in Tunisia was changed by the totalitarian regime that does not respect the people’s human rights. What is more, his poems to some extent reflect the overall political situation in many countries of the Arab world.
In the poem “The Will To Live” El-chebbi writes “If I have the ambition to achieve a goal, I will climb up my desire and forget any precaution” (El-chebbi, n.d.) – these words are especially meaningful, because they show that one will face many difficulties and dangers on his or her way to the desired outcomes. Undoubtedly, overthrowing the undemocratic political regime puts many politically active people in danger. However, in El-chebbi’s opinion it is worth defending own interests, because the earth “bless[s] those who have ambitions and those who enjoy taking risks, and damn [s] those who don’t flow with the times and those who are complacent about life, life between the stones” (El-chebbi, n.d.). These words are very motivating and encourage the Arab people not to become apathetic.
The poem “To the Tyrants of the World” written by El-chebbi was relevant in 2011 when the Arab Spring began. In this poem El-chebbi addressed a tyrant and wrote “You scoffed at powerless people’s groans; and your hands are tainted with their bloodThe flood, of blood, will wipe you away, and the flaring gale will eat you up” (El-chebbi, n.d.). His words were far-seeing. Very rarely in the history the totalitarian and colonial regimes avoided the violence. The same thing occurred during the events of the Arab Spring, but this time the people fought against the totalitarian leaders and elites that limited the rights of the majority of the people. Abou-Al-kacem El-chebbi’s poems remain popular nowadays, because Tunisia and other countries in the Middle East have not achieved the level of political development when the people can coexist and prosper not harming one another.
Works Cited
Echebbi, Aboul-Qacem. “The Will To Live”. Voices Compassion Education. n.d. Web. 18
Echebbi, Aboul-Qacem. “To the Tyrants of the World”. Voices Compassion Education. n.d.
Web. 18 April 2016
