At 21, I discovered repression and injustice. The army would shoot students with real bullets.

In the 70s I was in exile; every time I went back I wondered if they'd take my passport away.

To lead a country, you must periodically hold a national consultation in which people representing different programmes can make a bid for power.

I do not use the language of my people. I can take liberties with certain themes which the Arabic language would not allow me to take.

We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world.

For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history.

It is through accepting other people in our own countries that we shall come to respect our neighbours and be respected in our turn.