qaher قهر

Qaher is a word linguistically rooted in the Arabic word for oppression.

There is no English equivalent to the Arabic word qaher قهر. The dictionary says “anger” but it’s not. It is when you take anger, place it on a low fire, add injustice, oppression, racism, dehumanization to it, and leave it to cook slowly for a century. And then you try to say it but no one hears you. So it sits in your heart. And settles in your cells. And it becomes your genetic imprint. And then moves through generations. And one day, you find yourself unable to breathe. It washes over you and demands to break out of you. You weep. And the cycle repeats.

Sources

We are grateful to Khadija Muhaisen Dajani, direct excerpts of their social media content informed the content for this blog post.