Overall life is good and people are good. Some people do foolish things once in a
while: oppress, kill, steal land, destroy trees etc. But life continues and people survive, adapt,
and struggle to get to a better place. Here
in Palestine, the apricots (Mishmish) are in season and they are as sweet as
can be. Our village is known for Faqous
(of the cucumber family) which is now also in season. While Israeli colonizers took most of the
agricultural land around the area, we still have some Sahouri Faqous and we
still struggle to reclaim our rights. And
we are now beginning to get the first ripe figs (called Teen Dafour). The young olives and grapes are still green
and growing. Like those grape vines that
shed their leaves always come back with young leaves and then bear fruits. So I am thrilled that thousands of our
students are graduating this month. The
wedding season is on and my sister, a nurse at a maternity hospital in
Bethlehem, relays how they are busier than ever. Community gatherings always have more
children than adults (60% of us Palestinians are children). Nothing pleases my sight more than young
children walking down ancient streets holding hands like their ancestors did
thousands of years ago. 5 and 6 year old
friends with their arms on each other's shoulders whispering in each other's
ears through the narrow alleys of the refugee camp of Aida. Kids are sharing fruits and balloons in the
nativity square. Young girls giggling as they go home from the "Shepherds'
field school". They all look like
little angels on earth even in the cantons/ghettos of Israeli apartheid.
Those of us who are adults may sometime lose the optimism
and energy of childhood. We need to be
reminded and retain our optimism. Adults
sometimes try to remind us with a bit of philosophical reflections. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated: "I
do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye
reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure
by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see
I am sure it bends towards justice."
Or our departed friend Howard Zinn who once wrote: "To
be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact
that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion,
sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex
history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our
capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are
so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to
act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a
different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to
wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of
presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of
all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory." (You Can't Be
Neutral on a Moving Train: A personal history of our times, p. 208. )
But we remain optimistic because we are human beings who
believe in coexistence, equality, peace, and freedom. Pessimists are those who believe in
tribalism, racism, conflict, and the need for military might. In the long run,
we are more numerous than they are and we need to help them see the truth and
join us. We remain optimistic because our
children and grandchildren are optimistic and we should not try to dissuade
them from optimism or from acting to improve their lives. As we free our minds of dark thoughts, we can
see the light.
Where commemoration meets celebration (on optimism and
pessimism) http://www.
Images of a tour in Palestine 100 years ago
Video in English and French: Arabs of Jerusalem
Les arabes de
Jérusalem, d'Israël et de Cisjordanie
US Embassy to American in trouble in Israel: ‘You’re not
Jewish? Then we can’t do anything to help you’
Male Israeli soldiers who speak out
How Zionized is the US?
US Secretary of "Homeland Security" Defends
Controversial Grant Program
"A Forward report found that the program for DHS
security grants for not-for-profit organizations was tailored to the Jewish
community and that almost three-quarters of its funds went to Jewish
institutions.
…On another topic, Napolitano said that the DHS has decided
to allow Israeli citizens to enter the United States via a special fast-track
program despite Israel’s decision not to grant Americans reciprocal consideration,
as the United States usually requires. …Napolitano also pointedly declined
to criticize New York City’s controversial program of surveillance of Muslim
organizations and individuals with no known or suspected ties to
terrorism. "
And on May 9, 2012 House passed H.R. 4133 Unites States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, http://tinyurl.com/7nctgj4
Genocide and/or genocidal acts clearly characterize Israel's
attempts to obliterate in part or in whole a whole group of people (the
Palestinians). Palestinians should bring
Israel and Israeli leaders to justice.
Read More from International Law Expert Francis Boyle
and this interesting debate between a Zionist tribalist and
Prof. Martin Shaw
for more on genocide, visit http://martinshaw.org/my-
A new direction for the Palestinian People (still a concise and
good article)
The Zionist Story
Mazin, I love this post! It filled my heart with good thoughts, of compassion and understanding. Thank you for writing this. It brought sunshine and hope into my day.
ReplyDeleteI guess we should leave off chafing about Palestinians' inability to organize themselves to be an effective counterforce to Zionism. "Counterforce" should be a warning to us, that you can't fight fire with fire.
ReplyDeleteLittle kids learning in Palestine that they can touch each other without selfishness or fear bespeaks a power that power politics can never imagine. US kids are raised on paranoia and self-loathing (where do you think Zionists got that term?), so, as ready as we are to join lynch mobs, we are even faster to abandon a "cause" when it gets personal. We have already lost.