Week 12 - 2023 ends, 2024 begins - and what of Gaza?
Locally there is not a hopelessness but hope, and defiance. In Gaza however, hopelessness has begun to set in and how could it not.
For 12 Saturdays in a row we have rallied and marched alongside the local Palestinian community. We have beared witness to their agony, tears, heartbreak and speeches. Speeches that educated, speeches that emoted, speeches that implored the world to act.
The new year rang in. It felt nice to be with family, but it was for me, utterly devoid of meaning because everyday whether it‘s 2023, or 2024, people in Gaza are murdered in cold blood. No different to those Irish civilians on Bloody Sunday that were murdered by British soldiers (1). Even Israeli hostages are not safe from Israel’s murderous rampage or bombs, with three hostages shot in cold blood while waving a white flag, presumably because soldiers thought they were Palestinian.
Children will die of hunger even if they escape Israeli/US bombs and bullets, women are starved and dehydrated so cannot produce breast milk to keep their babies alive.
"We have started to see people coming in emaciated," said Samia Abu Salah, a primary care doctor in Rafah. (2)
And yet, despite Israel’s online propaganda and bullying, the resistance grows. The understanding deepens. In just attending these demonstrations my own education received has enlightened me. I am forever changed. While for us, our struggle for freedom from our oppressor instructs our solidarity with Palestine, so too for so many other groups not least of which include black Americans. When Karen Underwood, a singer, made her speech to educate us, she made mention of Emmet Till. That the decision of Emmet Tills mother to show the world what white supremacists had done to her son in their brutality and savagery, changed things.
I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn't go back.
—Rosa Parks, on her refusal to move to the back of the bus, launching the Montgomery bus boycott. (3)
Why so, must we go every Saturday to protest for so many weeks? What good will it do? Well, we think of the children of Gaza and we can‘t do nothing. If we were arrested for protesting (which many around the world are), we would still do it. Full speech and song below from week 12.
See you for week 13. 🇮🇪🇵🇸 #freepalestine
Watch the video at https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1fNpmsrPVm/?igsh=MTZjcnlnOWNmNWpweQ==