BIODATA OF SITI RUQAIYAH HASHIM
Rokiah Hashim writes using the name Siti RuqaiyahHashim was born in Pulau Pinang , Malaysia. She obtained Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Drama and History in 1977, from University of Science, Pulau Pinang. She continued her studies in University of Sydney, Australia in 1984. Andobtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Translation from Institute of Translation and Books, Malaysia with specialization in Literature Translation. She worked as a teacher and lecturer in Institute of Teaching Education for 20 years before retiring early in 1998 to be a full time writer.
She taught in Institute of Translation and Books Malaysia and Academy of Arts and Heritage (ASWARA) in Literature Translations for few years. Starting from 1987her poems and short stories were published by mainstream literature magazines and newspapers. She is also prolific in film and theatre critics and wrote since 2007 in her column ‘Variasi’ in a major national daily in Malaysia and published a film critic book Kritikan Filem Siti Ruqaiyah Hashim in 2015. She also wrote some 250 films and theatre articles.
A bi-lingual anthology of her poems titled ‘Katharsis’ or Catharsis in English and Bahasa Melayu was published in 2015. The English – Spanish version was published in 2016 and launched in Argentina. Her bi-lingual anthology together with 12 other world peace poets in English and Bahasa Melayu titled News From Strasbourg was published in 2017 by a leading digital book publisher PerbadananKota Buku, Malaysia. 20 of her poems are in the anthology and 40 more are from 12 other world poets. All translation into Bahasa Melayu was done by Siti Ruqaiyah herself.
Her second bi-lingual anthology in Bahasa Melayu-English under peace poem series together with 16 other world poets titled Peace Be Upon You Davos was published by Kultura Snova, Zagreb recently. She is now working on a third peace poem series with other world peace poets. It will be published in Zagreb by Kultura Snova in Croatian and English language. Her works also appeared in numerous other anthologies together with other world poets. Her poems were translated into Mandarin, Croatian, Uzbekistan,Arabic, Spanish, French, Japanese, Mongolian, Italian, Macedonian, Russian, Turkish and Albanian. She is a prolific poetry translator and her works appear in many International magazines. She is a member of World Congress of Poets (WCP), Union of Bosnian Artists (UBU) and Perak Creative Association. Her poems won in poem festivals outside Malaysia. Siti Ruqaiyah Hashim is also a peace and anti-war,human rights and environmental activist and is an Associate Author of Diogen.Pro Cultural Magazine published in USA and writes in many international magazines.
AT TIME LIKE THIS
At time like this I want to hold your hands hug you tightly and cry on your shoulder as loud as possible and let you cry on my shoulder as much as you want because the wave of pain not decreasing at all in fact they are more humiliations after humiliations thrown at us and we could only watch as words are useless
Palestine oh Palestine! Since young I heard stories of your pain and we grew up approaching sunset with your tears and blood
My man times and times again I had said your pain is my pain at times like this my restlessness are united with yours and we the defeated ones inseparable and remained together the way you want it.
LOVE IN THE TIMES OF AL NAKBA
My man thank you for trying to fathom between the battles of the soul and the waves of my love to you and seeing every grain more than the dances of a gypsy woman
My man you are getting closer recognizing the rhytms of my footsteps between the foggy dictions whispered during our love dialogue of yester year while you were still dazed guessing and testing the enigmatic lake of my heart the depth of the trench of my soul at breakfast table during lunch dinner during journey when holding me tight as if not letting me go when we were parting and in shyness of being watched I buried my face of love on your chest and you make me promised I will not go back to miseries
My man thank you for still trying to build bridges of understanding until this moment and not giving up easily though engulfed by darkness without even a word
My man thank you in waves of thorny obstacles ocean of fire and non-stop missiles we are still there as how you want it as how I want it as what we promised during the most beautiful fall of yesteryear
Thank you God.
PRAYERS FOR AISHA LULU
Today Aisha Lulu, 5 years old An orphan from Gaza Died alone
Ah! The small martyr
Nobody from her family Allowed to follow her to hospital in Jerusalem Because that’s the rules Of check points soldiers of Zionist Though Aisha Lulu was fighting for her life From a chronique brain tumor
Only an unknown woman Allowed to accompany her For love and compassion of a small orphan Who doesn’t know anything About political game of the mighty and the powerful
That’s the pinch of humanity Shown to Aisha Lulu The orphan from Gaza
And Aisha Lulu died Crying to the end of of her life
Oh my! Where is humanity What is humanity Of the Chosen ones?
Al Fatihah for Aisha Lulu Maybe death is better for you, my angel.
NOT MIRAGES
Yourpain and my pain are not mirages of parallel roads of two worlds but are dotted lines that link our soul and united at last in your gibberish and mine and there are no amount of verses spilled that could heal this wound.
ON THE EVE OF AIDIL ADHA
My friend, I never fear they don’t know me or forget me or I become a stranger to them or they hate me Its not me who tried to destroy them but its them again and again who tried to kill me
Sorry because I don’t apologize (what for ?) because I don’t miss them maybe because I don’t need them anymore
But as what Mahmoud Darwish said I never hate them and on this Aidil Adha eve I pray and send my love to everyone.