Palestinians mourn Mahmoud Darwish

Malaysia Sun Saturday 9th August, 2008

World renowned poet Mahmoud Darwish has died in a Houston, Texas hospital.

Darwish, 67, was undergoing open heart surgery when complications set in.

He was the most acclaimed, and widest recognised Palestinian poet in the world.

Darwish was a prominent advocate of the Palestinian dreams of statehood. He crafted the 1988 declaration of independence, and helped forge a Palestinian national identity.

He was critical of the factional in-fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

'He embodied the best in Palestinians, even though he became iconic he never lost his sense of humanity. We have lost part of our essence, the essence of the Palestinian being,' Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi told The Associated Press.