Mandela seràs Leah

Catalan

Mariona Miret

“No” digué ell. “La Llibertat mai se sotmet a condició” –

i les manilles van estrényer el presoner de l’Illa de Robben. 

“No” digué ella. “El Coneixement no exclou” –

amb cicatrius, però sense por, el rostre de la Dama de Pakistan.

“No” digué ella, “la Fe no es força” –

una veu captiva, discreta però desafiant a Dapchi,

inextingible la seva força dins del cau dels fanàtics.

Així, en el temps, la veu perenne del testimoni –

Mandela, Malala, Leah Sharibu – com la torxa del

“no” que pronuncià Prometeu; foc, himne, 

s’obre pas per l’escletxa, i com flamarada bestial envaeix

Chibok i Dapchi, per tornar a il·luminar el món.

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Read the English translation – Mandela Comes to Leah by Prof. Wole Soyinka 

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Mariona Miret Giribet is an entrepreneur working for the revitalisation of the endangered languages of the world. She studied a Bachelor in Catalan & Occitan language and literature, and a Master’s in International Relations. When she was volunteering in Sardinia, she experimented first-hand what it means to face a language extinction situation, and that left a deep imprint on her. From that moment on, she started getting engaged in the arena of minority language communities in Europe.

The focus of her work is the OCCITAN language and the rich heritage of this culture, spanning back from the troubadours in the Medieval ages, until nowadays, with a particular passion for contemporary poetry and cultural activism. She is the representative of the International Mission of Chambra d’Òc, an association promoting Occitan in the mountain valleys of Piedmont, Italy. Her experience has led her to working in the delegation of the Barcelona Provincial Council in Brussels, and in the General Directorate of Language Policy of the Government of Catalonia. She is also an Aranese Occitan translator.