Palestine Will be Free

Hey everyone.

I have finally taken the time to engage thoroughly with the war happening in Gaza, Palestine. It took me a long time to lift my head out of the sand. I’m disgusted by the cloak of indifference that I have been wearing. I will not waste a second beating myself up for it because that would only be self-pity. There is no time for that. There is no space in this world for that.

Amid all this darkness there has been something that has stood out to me: that despite the human rot, the hatred, the filthy lies and the moral bankruptcy of certain people, institutions and politicians – there is more light than darkness on this planet.

South Africa.

My home, my heart. The world once stood up for you when our people were oppressed, massacred, and denied the right to their land. Now, bravely, you have shown up for our brothers and sisters in Palestine who suffer in the same way. You have sought out intellectuals, journalists and specialists who travelled right to the frontlines and conducted a thorough and gut-wrenching investigation on Gaza. You were the first to openly call Israel’s acts a genocide and took them to the ICJ. Your actions spoke louder than your words. Thank you to President Cyril Ramaphosa who quoted in his final rally: From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.

Artists. Poets. Musicians.

You have not let the tears and the blood leaking from our harrowed hearts spill wasted on the ground. Rather, you’ve poured them onto the canvas, through the lens, into the microphone. You’ve used them as ink to keep the burning nation of Palestine alive. You have brought creation to carnage. The songs I’ve linked below are ones that inspired me to get up and write this post.

Students of the world.

You have awoken from the coma of western “prestige” and denounced the glossy institutions that fund wars. You pointed fingers at vice chancellors, biased journalists, power-hungry politicians, heartless capitalists who choose to side with Israel and insist that what is going on is not a genocide but an act of defense. Fiona Lali, I think of you. You are an inspiration to many of us who think that our voices are not loud enough.  

This not just war over stolen land. Why do you think little boys are throwing stones at tanks? We will never really know how many people are dead. They drop bombs on innocent girls while they sleep in their beds. Don’t get offended by facts, just try and listen. Nothing is more anti-Semitic than Zionism.

Lowkey, Long Live Palestine

We forget that the colour of our skin, our creed, our land is not a God-given right nor a curse of fate. It is a simple matter of chance. This means that as human beings we are inextricably linked to each other. We are all brothers and sisters. Man-made borders will never surpass this. Race and social hierarchy will never surpass this. Religion and however way it rationalizes man and the universe will never surpass this. And when our brothers and sisters are in trouble, we must be brave and do something.

For facts, truth and real journalism, watch George Galloway who has been following Israeli-Hamas conflict long before your mainstream broadcasters told us what to focus.