--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's…" description: "\"I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's still alive; given that people have been trying to silence him for almost fifty years, he really shouldn't be. Ag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_alive_i-m-mostly-surprised-by-the-fact-he-s-st_3145689.jpg" --- # I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's still alive; given… ![“I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's still alive; given that people have been trying to silence him for almost fifty years, he really shouldn't be. Aged thirty, Abdellatif [Laâbi's ] was kidnapped from his home in Rabat by plainclothes policemen, bundled into the back of an unmarked car, driven…” quote by Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_alive_i-m-mostly-surprised-by-the-fact-he-s-st_3145689.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_alive_i-m-mostly-surprised-by-the-fact-he-s-st_3145689.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_alive_i-m-mostly-surprised-by-the-fact-he-s-st_3145689.jpg) > “I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's still alive; given that people have been trying to silence him for almost fifty years, he really shouldn't be. Aged thirty, Abdellatif \[Laâbi's \] was kidnapped from his home in Rabat by plainclothes policemen, bundled into the back of an unmarked car, driven to a dingy gaol, and tortured for days on end.” [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the paradox of a dissident surviving prolonged oppression, emphasizing resilience against state violence. **In simple terms:** Survival despite oppression shows resilience. Key Takeaway Recognize and support those who endure oppression. Themes resilience political oppression human rights Mood defiant somber Type political testimonial When to use this quote - activism - human rights advocacy - journalism - legal defense Key Concepts authoritarianism survival courage Questions to Reflect On - How do we protect vulnerable voices? - What systems enable such endurance? A Different Perspective Survival may be due to luck, not just resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Gaol Tortured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaol-tortured-5625630/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Kidnapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kidnapped/) [Laâbi Kidnapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/la-bi-kidnapped-5625629/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Thirty Abdellatif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-abdellatif-5625631/) [Tortured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tortured/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone who tortured me and kidnapped me, who imprisoned me, I have forgiven everyone. And I wish them, from the bottom of my heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamedou-ould-slahi/everyone-who-tortured-me-and-kidnapped-me-who-imprisoned-me-i-have/) [Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamedou-ould-slahi/) > [The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benenson/the-candle-burns-not-for-us-but-for-all-those-whom-we-failed-to/) [Peter Benenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benenson/) > [Everyone thinks you've been kidnapped," he said. "We've been scouring the ship. When Coach Hedge finds out- oh, gods, you've been here all night?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/everyone-thinks-you-ve-been-kidnapped-he-said-we-ve-been-scouring-the/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [If you ever see me drinking a Bud Lite Lime, I have been kidnapped and am trying to signal you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ever-see-me-drinking-a-bud-lite-lime-i-have-been-kidnapped-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sheriff, are you suggestin' the victom was kidnapped?" "I'm only statin' that, at this time, we have no body, only nonvital body parts...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-alten/sheriff-are-you-suggestin-the-victom-was-kidnapped-i-m-only-statin/) [Steve Alten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-alten/) > [I know people socially who live in countries where the wealth gap is more extreme than it is in America, and they live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/i-know-people-socially-who-live-in-countries-where-the-wealth-gap-is/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [I wasn't in a position that some other memoirists are, dealing with families who fed them meth, or kidnapped them, or did something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/i-wasn-t-in-a-position-that-some-other-memoirists-are-dealing-with/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [“Aden St. George managed to avoid having to kill the guard stationed outside his quarry’s crypt-like cell, although the thug outside the caves hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kelly/aden-st-george-managed-to-avoid-having-to-kill-the-guard-stationed/) [Vanessa Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-kelly/) > [ever been kidnapped by a poet if i were a poet i'd kidnap you put you in my phrases and meter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/ever-been-kidnapped-by-a-poet-if-i-were-a-poet-i-d-kidnap-you-put-you/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [There are definitely many adventures on the road with Jessica 6. It sometimes feels like we're in a movie. I was recently kidnapped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomi-ruiz/there-are-definitely-many-adventures-on-the-road-with-jessica-6-it/) [Nomi Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomi-ruiz/) > [It's amazing how email has changed our lives. You ever get a handwritten letter in the mail today? 'What the? Has someone been kidnapped?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/it-s-amazing-how-email-has-changed-our-lives-you-ever-get-a/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [“Being her friend was like going to a tropical island for a little fun in the sun, only to be kidnapped by terrorists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/being-her-friend-was-like-going-to-a-tropical-island-for-a-little-fun/) [Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/) > [My character was kidnapped by the Terminator and I was kidnapped by the Terminator production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/my-character-was-kidnapped-by-the-terminator-and-i-was-kidnapped-by/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [“The best part about being kidnapped is being blindfolded and getting kicked into the trunk of a car. Boy, normally I have to beg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-best-part-about-being-kidnapped-is-being-blindfolded-and-getting/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Andre Naffis-Sahely > [Translators who choose to work on canonized writers can usually lean on an extensive critical apparatus around either the author or the book in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/translators-who-choose-to-work-on-canonized-writers-can-usually-lean/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [The real question should be: what makes a good political poem? The possible answers to that question are both obvious and yet still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/the-real-question-should-be-what-makes-a-good-political-poem-the/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [As the Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe has presciently pointed out, neoliberal corporate globalism threatens to exploit that advantage like never before, and it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/as-the-cameroonian-philosopher-achille-mbembe-has-presciently-pointed/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I've heard of translators collaborating closely with their authors, sometimes even living with them for a while, but that's not me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-ve-heard-of-translators-collaborating-closely-with-their-authors/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [When it comes to the challenges of the actual process, I soldier on as best I can, on my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/when-it-comes-to-the-challenges-of-the-actual-process-i-soldier-on-as/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I came to poetry at fourteen, in the middle of a booming oil-rush town in southern Arabia without a single public library: Abu Dhabi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-came-to-poetry-at-fourteen-in-the-middle-of-a-booming-oil-rush-town/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Poetry either pulses with real life or it's just an aborted simulacra. There's no middle ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/poetry-either-pulses-with-real-life-or-it-s-just-an-aborted-simulacra/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Whenever poetry and politics are mentioned in the same breath, we tend to miss the point entirely - as I often have - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/whenever-poetry-and-politics-are-mentioned-in-the-same-breath-we-tend/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I don't like poems that invent memories, I have enough of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-don-t-like-poems-that-invent-memories-i-have-enough-of-my-own/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [ That boom town \[Abu Dhabi\] proved to be the reef against which my family crashed, the story of many who seek the promised land,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/that-boom-town-abu-dhabi-proved-to-be-the-reef-against-which-my/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Most of us have been subjected to terrible political poetry at least once or twice in our lifetimes, and so we tend to shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/most-of-us-have-been-subjected-to-terrible-political-poetry-at-least/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Regardless of whether the authors I've translated have been "dead and canonized," or "living and established," or even simply "emerging," I must put myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/regardless-of-whether-the-authors-i-ve-translated-have-been-dead-and/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [ Abdellatif \[Laâbi\] was wildly popular with his students and it wasn't difficult to see why: like them, he knew that average Moroccans were hungry,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/abdellatif-la-bi-was-wildly-popular-with-his-students-and-it-wasn-t/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [One cannot simply decide to write apolitical poetry, in the way one decides to drink lemonade instead of tea, it's far more subliminal than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/one-cannot-simply-decide-to-write-apolitical-poetry-in-the-way-one/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I'm of the opinion that poetry is always political, and cannot help but be so, regardless of the poet's intent, given that refusing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-poetry-is-always-political-and-cannot-help/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) [Explore all 30 Andre Naffis-Sahely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm mostly surprised by the fact he's still alive; given that people have been trying to silence him for almost fifty years, he really shouldn't be. 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