SocialistStories حكايات اشتراكية

Liberty, You Say
by Otto Rene Castillo

Liberty,
you tell me,
is the most beautiful
thing that exists
on our young
planet.
You can't
live without it;
it's like oxygen
of the soul.
If you have it,
you can never
lose it,
for you would die
from such immense pain.

It is not conquered.
It is carried humbly,
like an afternoon
in the depths of the heart.

But I who live
and suffer my country
like no one else,
I do not agree
with you.
The people here
have never been free.
For many it no longer matters
if the chain is thick

Download: 

Liberty, You Say - Otto Rene Castillo.pdf

Risk Analysis
by Mario Benedetti

Every time a landowner
declares
they'll have to take
this property
over my dead body
he should keep in mind that
somebody just might
do it.

Download: 

Risk Analysis - Mario Benedetti.pdf

Mr. President
by Maina wa Kinyatti

You who have made yourself
Proprietor of our history
Defender of backward ideas
We are you captives
You can keep us in captivity
As long as you wish
You can murder us
But you cannot succeed in suppressing
Our revolutionary writings
You cannot cage ideas
You cannot murder ideas
Ideas belong to the people

In spite of your efforts
The fire of revolution
Will grow and spread
From universities to factories
From factories to the mountains
From the forests to the river banks
Your days are numbered

Download: 

Mr. President - Maina wa Kinyatti.pdf

Revolution
by Otto Rene Castillo

Those who don't see
call us blind
but you have taught us
to see the color
of the coming times.

Those who don't hear
call us deaf
but you have taught us
to listen everywhere
to the agile sound
of human tenderness.

Cowards call us cowards
but with you we confront
the shadows
and change their faces.
Criminals call us criminals,
but with you we revive hope,
putting an end to crime,
prostitution,
hunger.
And we put eyes,
voice,
ears,
soul
on the heart of humanity.
Racists call us antihuman

Download: 

Revolution - Otto Rene Castillo.pdf

Two Religions
by Roque Dalton

When revolution is outlined on the horizon
the old cauldron of religions gets stirred up.

In normal times
religion meant going to Mass
paying tithes for God's house
baptizing children
and confessing sins to keep one's account in order.

When revolution is outlined on the horizon
churches remember the masses
and come down from the clouds and mysteries
and Sunday tranquility.

Fat pastors speak of the end of the world
when what's approaching is the end of exploitation;

Download: 

Two Religions - Roque Dalton.pdf

This short story (28pg) by Gorky is about the 9th of January 1905 mass procession of workers to the Tsar's Winter Palace led by Priest Georgy Gapon, which intended to present a petition to the Tsar. The workers in the procession were peaceful, but the army stationed around the Winter Palace opened fire several times on the peaceful, defenseless workers and slaughtered hundreds of them. This is also known as "Bloody Sunday," and was the start of the 1905 Russian Revolution.

Download: 

9th of January - Maxim Gorky.pdf

For the Good of All
By Otto Rene Castillo

Listen,
look,
touch
this voice,
for underneath
a man burns sweetly
for the good of all.

Cliches?

You,
try to be worthy
all day long.
Afterwords
we'll speak alone
if you wish.

I tell you.

At this stage of our time
after twenty centuries
of christian word,
man is worse than ever
more evil than ever
less caring than ever.
Even the word love
has been lost
—love!
This at least in my country
gentle and sonorous as no other.

And in spite of it all,
there are nations where man

Download: 

For the Good of All - Otto Rene Castillo.pdf

Let us remember all the revolutionaries (among them Castillo himself, who was burnt alive for fighting as a guerilla against the amerikkkan puppet regime in Guatemala) who have been martyred in the struggle for a world free of oppression and inequalites. May they rest in peace, and we continue their struggle, and continue until we are triumphant! Enjoy comrades:

Satisfaction
By Otto Rene Castillo

The most beautiful thing
for those who have fought a whole life
is to come to the end and say;
we believed in people and life,
and life and the people

This is a beautiful play (30pg – it takes place during the Spanish Revolution), and it is basically a theatrical presentation of the argument between advocates of non-violence, and advocates of real change, and real struggle (i.e. advocates of armed resistance).

Download: 

Senora Carrar's Rifles - Bertolt Brecht.pdf

This short story (5pg) by Maxim Gorky explores and articulates what the word "comrade" means to the stuggling and oppressed, and shows the unmistakable, and indestructible, power behind it and the ideas which it stands for. This is really a beautifull story, and articulates very well the meaning of one of my favorite words, and hopefully one of your favorite words as well! Enjoy comrades:

Download: 

Comrade - Maxim Gorky.pdf