Asa, I don't know how you and Ali and Nora keep doing this work. It is so hard and so horrible. Like Ali, and I'm sure all of you, I am angry all the time. But to hear Refaat reassuring you all that it's not you or Palestinians who have failed seems almost unbelievable.
But I think it shows one of the key mistakes that our world leaders keep making. Rutger Bregman, in his book "Humankind", explains how the Nazis (and the British ruling class) believed the blitz would break the British people. And even when it was seen to fail, the British rulers believed that carpet-bombing Dresden would break the German people (who they obviously considered inferior) - and were proved wrong. The US, in particular, has since experienced similar failures in Vietnam and other countries. But none of them have learned the lesson, which is that, far from being broken by this treatment, people are brought together, our determination and the bonds between us are strengthened. The Palestinian people, having experienced this treatment again and again, must now be among the strongest, most determined people in the world. It perhaps shouldn't be a surprise that these world leaders, living in the luxury of complete safety (and no doubt seeing Palestinians as inferior to themselves), can't comprehend this.
If you can, please add my voice to those sending love, hope and solidarity to Refaat, Khalil and all in Gaza and to all Palestinians wherever they are. I'd just add one more thing - if you saw any coverage of the Cymru football team's World Cup campaign, you may have come across the song that became their anthem for the tournament, Yma o hyd. The Welsh people have been attacked, oppressed and ignored for centuries, which may be why they have stood in solidarity with Palestinians more than others in the UK. Despite their oppression, the song expresses their defiance in the words of the chorus:
We are still here
We are still here
Despite everyone and everything
Despite everyone and everything
Despite everyone and everything
We are still here. (my translation)
I feel these words might resonate with Palestinian people too.
Asa, I don't know how you and Ali and Nora keep doing this work. It is so hard and so horrible. Like Ali, and I'm sure all of you, I am angry all the time. But to hear Refaat reassuring you all that it's not you or Palestinians who have failed seems almost unbelievable.
But I think it shows one of the key mistakes that our world leaders keep making. Rutger Bregman, in his book "Humankind", explains how the Nazis (and the British ruling class) believed the blitz would break the British people. And even when it was seen to fail, the British rulers believed that carpet-bombing Dresden would break the German people (who they obviously considered inferior) - and were proved wrong. The US, in particular, has since experienced similar failures in Vietnam and other countries. But none of them have learned the lesson, which is that, far from being broken by this treatment, people are brought together, our determination and the bonds between us are strengthened. The Palestinian people, having experienced this treatment again and again, must now be among the strongest, most determined people in the world. It perhaps shouldn't be a surprise that these world leaders, living in the luxury of complete safety (and no doubt seeing Palestinians as inferior to themselves), can't comprehend this.
If you can, please add my voice to those sending love, hope and solidarity to Refaat, Khalil and all in Gaza and to all Palestinians wherever they are. I'd just add one more thing - if you saw any coverage of the Cymru football team's World Cup campaign, you may have come across the song that became their anthem for the tournament, Yma o hyd. The Welsh people have been attacked, oppressed and ignored for centuries, which may be why they have stood in solidarity with Palestinians more than others in the UK. Despite their oppression, the song expresses their defiance in the words of the chorus:
We are still here
We are still here
Despite everyone and everything
Despite everyone and everything
Despite everyone and everything
We are still here. (my translation)
I feel these words might resonate with Palestinian people too.