You dont know what youre alive for, until you know what you would die for. I remember years ago when I first become aware of the plight of the Palestinian people, it made me so outraged, so tearful, so depressed, and mostly so ashamed that we, the rest of the world, had in our ignorance and silence allowed this to happen. The realization that 1.8 million people are trapped in the biggest open air prison in the world, and at the mercy of constant vicious Israeli attacks that devastate and kill thousands of people appalled me. Seeing photos of the dead and dying sickened me, watching the people banging on the Rafah Gate to get out broke my heart. Hearing about how the very marginalized people live in poverty stricken squalor horrified me. Reading about children as young as 7 being arrested and thrown into prison shocked me. Then I stirred myself into action, and moved Heaven and Earth to get to Gaza, to show my support and solidarity with the Palestinian people. Ive been back to Gaza since that first time, and during the intervening years that sense of deep sorrow never left me, but its tempered with incredible joy, for the people of Gaza, despite their ongoing tragedy, are the most resilient, hopeful, loving people in the world, who make me long to be in their presence, where I feel like Im home. This new genocide appals and sickens me to the very depth of my soul. I havent had a moments rest in the past 21 days, seeing so many innocents dying the most horrible deaths, so many people homeless and crying for help, so many grieving parents, so many orphaned children, so much senseless devastation - my heart is literally gasping with their pain. Going to Gaza and knowing the tragedys and triumphs of the people has been the most defining time of my life, but its a double edged sword, as its both broken my heart, and restored my soul, and with the opening of my heart to the needs of the Gazans, Im able to give so much more of myself.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 20:02:09 +0000
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