Other posts from Palestine
In our last post, I wrote about our decision to volunteer in Palestine; I wrote about our fears and doubts, and about how being there was incredibly meaningful. In this post, I want to share a poem/reflection that I wrote during the weeks when we were wrestling with the decision of whether or not to go.
Sharing this feels vulnerable, and reading it back now months removed and after not facing any physical violence (though we did face intimidation & harassment), it feels a bit melodramatic.
Regardless, I still want to share this because I am convinced that many of us are too comfortable having the “right” opinions or voting the “right” way without actively confronting injustice. I include myself in this; I am still learning how to actively take part in shaping history rather than merely observing history.
Not that I have any ability to shape history. None (or at least most) of us don’t have any power individually. But we have power when we act collectively. Being part of collective action that challenges power comes with risks, and we all need to wrestle with those risks. Wrestling with what risks I was willing to take on is what I was doing in this reflection. I hope that sharing it is helpful to someone who is grappling with some of the same things.
Going to see the reality in Palestine with your own eyes is extremely informative and meaningful. There are many different ways to do this suited to different risk tolerance levels. So, just because we took on a higher level of risk, don’t let that deter you from going in a way that is right for you.
going to palestine
if the bombs rain down
and its my turn
to join the martyrs
my main concern: promise that you’ll speak about me
--
i hope that you speak about me
not for the sake of me
speak about me for the sake of those i work for
you are only hearing about me because i am american
maybe you’ve heard of rachel corrie
maybe you’ve heard of ayşenur ezgi eygi
but have you heard of salam wael ahmed al-astal?
have you heard of dina dhafer hamdi al-akkad?
palestinians are being killed every day
if you care about me
but you don’t care about them
then I hope you get my name out of your mouth
promise that you’ll speak about me
but if you do speak about me
you must also speak up for
the displaced
the murdered
the imprisoned
those deemed “collateral damage”
those born into open air prisons
the babies being killed
--
the other day i was walking down the street thinking about these things
and i saw a church
i sat inside looking at a statue of jesus on the cross
i sat there thinking about why he died on that cross
and if I would follow him there
i thought he looked a lot like me
a quarter because i have some palestinian in me
the rest because they’ve made jesus white
if i share his fate, i hope you see the right similarities
you see, there are a lot of misconceptions about why jesus died
some say the purpose was to save us from our sins
some say his crime was declaring himself king
i see things a bit differently
i think his purpose was to show us how to live
and his crime wasn’t attempting to seize power as a king
his crime was showing people that they have power
and that they are not each other’s enemies
that they don’t have to be beholden to the powers that be
that the rulers derive their power from the people
but rather that they can overturn these powers through humanistic solidarity
by collectively standing up for the oppressed
caring for the poor
loving their enemies
and fighting corrupt systems
--
but i am scared to do those things
am i willing to follow him to the cross?
just this week ayşenur was shot dead by the idf
while peacefully protesting illegal settlements
i realize this could happen to me
this scares me
i could have a comfortable life just caring about things from afar
i could have a fun life traveling the world, climbing peaks, and diving to the depths
but i know that living in my privilege and doing nothing about the suffering of others kills my soul
death comes to us all
i’d rather live life pursuing justice and meaning and die young
than being scared and never truly living for anything bigger than myself
of course i hope to live a long life
i will do this with hope and resolute determination to bring about change
but also facing the reality that doing so may mean facing death
--
i hope that you speak about me so that other people who feel powerless to change things, and other people who feel like living a privileged western consumer life is meaningless can see that they can use their privilege to work with others to bring about change, and that accompanying the poor and oppressed can bring their life meaning
If you’ve read this far, I want to encourage you to get involved in an organization that is taking collective action. There are many great organizations; find one that is doing good work in your city. Here are just a few suggestions of organizations that have Palestinian liberation as their objective, or as one of their main objectives:
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