Globe, Human Rights, United Kingdom, World

Palestine is here, and Palestine is us

I wonder what effects the facts in Palestina have on our lives. The Gaza Strip is more than 3500 kilometres away from London (and over 12000 kilometres away from the Latin American region, where I am from), and still, the shocking facts cannot be ignored.

 

Mabel Encinas

 

Palestinian people who work, who have families and who embrace hope for a better life, like you or me (like our children), are being killed. I feel each lost life as a thorn in my heart.

The most ridiculous paradox is: if Palestinian people are beaten, who wins? There is no sense, because civilian killings cannot be justified in any way; on the contrary, they create even greater conflicts.

We can think about who our children are. If you answer that your children are: “my biological children”, “my adopted ones”, “the children in whose education I have had an impact” or “those from my country of origin”, that might be fair, but not fair enough.

As much as we do not care about the life of ‘other’ children and about their rights, we are not doing what we need to do for our children.

The acceptation of an unjustifiable situation that creates fear and rage in others, eventually will affect those children that each person think as ‘mine’.

In any case, let us discuss with our children about important issues. For example: Are the critics to Israel anti-Semitic?

No, this would be as confusing the criticism against neoliberal politics, with the rejection of the people for the United States.

While anti-Semitism is a particular kind of racism, which involves discrimination, the criticisms to the government of Israel are directed to the ruling sector and to ways of doing both politics and wars.

Let us free ourselves of racisms, without losing the possibility of being critical of criminal decisions and abuses.

Does the support of Palestine involve the support of terrorism? No. That would be like confusing the support of private property of your house or flat, with the support of the privatisation of water or health, or the support of the impoverishment of people to the benefit of the large hands of corporate power.

Let us support the Palestinian people and the possibilities for dialogues. Let us support life.

Are the outcomes of wars useful? No, the attacks will not bring peace or wellbeing to anyone. Unless the war aims to break chains of slavery, wars are not a reasonable path to human conflicts.

If you want to do more, meet your Palestinian neighbour to discover how similar he or she and you are.

Meet their families, do things together, and discuss your aspirations and theirs.

Create common experiences, and welcome the opportunity that living in London gives us.

Do you want to do even more? Talk, investigate and reflect about Palestine, and look for more ways of doing.

We all need to be informed and think about what we listen or read, for example, who signs for the information, what are their interests in the conflict, what are the gains and for whom, what are the values behind claims. Also, there are alternative sources of information to which we can have access.

Then, let us be active: Let us go to the streets and demand a stop to the massacre, sign in for causes against the killing of Palestinian people, and search for organisations that support human rights and for solidarity campaigns.

After all, maybe, all children are ours and Palestine is here, and Palestine is us. We have responsibility for our common present. Their future and our future are in our hands and we can make a difference together.

(Photos: Pixabay)

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