The Chapel Hill Shootings Resonate In Poetry

By Will McInerney

Published March 16, 2015 at 7:54 AM EDT

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Fidaa Abu Roob, who works at the Government Hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, says after the Chapel Hill Shootings "...there is fear for the Palestinian people who immigrated to the US. Maybe my son, maybe my brother might encounter the same story.

Will McInerney photo

Will McInerney is a poet from Chapel Hill. He is the co-founder of the group Sacrificial Poets.

It's been a month since news broke that three young Muslims were shot to death in Chapel Hill. For poet Will McInerney, it hit especially hard. He’s from Chapel Hill, knew the victims through friends, and like many, has been trying to sort it out.

This month Will McInerney and translator Mike Mallah are traveling across the Middle East and working with the Syrian American Medical Society and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Their project, Stories with a Heartbeat, documents the work of medical NGO's through creative storytelling and photography.

He sent us this Poetic reflection on what it's like to be in the region and say: "I'm from Chapel Hill."

Will McInerney was a part of a team of poets and photographers who traveled to Egypt and Tunisia in 2011 for the Poetic Portraits of a Revolutionproject. They produced a series of "poetic reflections" in cooperation with WUNC.

The main entrance to The Jenin Goverment Hospital, also known as The Martyr Khalil Sulieman Hospital, is built from 'Jerusalem Stone' and lifts a Palestinian flag into the sky.

Credit Will McInerney photo