28: palestinian liberation, decolonization, resistance poems, & resources

as a Black South African, my existence and freedom today are only possible because of the liberation efforts of anti-apartheid revolutionaries like Steve Biko, Winnie Mandela, Chris Hani, and Nelson Mandela. all of these people were labeled terrorists by the apartheid government and international community. like Israel, the USA and UK financially supported the South African apartheid government (until it was no longer popular to).

after many attempts at non-violent protest, the ANC had to turn to armed struggle. they found that there was no other call for justice and freedom for Black South Africans that would be heeded. this is the case in all liberation struggles. the violence that was used to oppose the apartheid regime in South Africa can not be put on equal footing with the extreme violence of apartheid itself, and must always be viewed in its proper context: an attempt by an indigenous people to be free from the militarized and everyday terror of a white supremacist apartheid state. the same is true for Palestine, with respect to Zionism.

⁠decolonization is not a metaphor.⁠ when we see thorns of violence, and when they pierce our skin, we must look at them and consider: if i am against this thorn, i must acknowledge that this thorn has a stem, this stem has a root, and if i am not against the root of violence, suffering, and terror that gave this thorn life and made its existence not only possible but inevitable, I cannot in good conscience claim to be against violence at all. 

colonialism and imperialism are the root of all structural violence; are the true terrors against humanity and this earth, so normalized and so protected that to condemn them is to be labeled with words only appropriate for the militarized forces of the world that create the most heinous, and organized forms of violence we as human beings have ever been made to experience and witness.

this is an episode in solidarity with my Palestinian siblings, suffering under the weight of an oppressive regime. Free Palestine — free every colonized people from imperialism and colonialism, from bombs, raids, checkpoints, seiges, humiliation, terror, blockades, forced removals, occupations, prisons, slavery, and exploitation. re-indigenize this earth so that peace, community, and love can be returned to the center of human life on this precious planet.

DONATE: 

Medical Aid for Palestinians is on the ground in Gaza where they are working to stock hospitals with essential drugs,disposables and other healthcare supplies.

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine. They deliver crucial, life-saving medical relief and humanitarian aid on the ground

The World Food Program has been distributing fresh bread, canned food and ready-to-eat food to those who sought refuge in United Nations Relief and Works Agency shelters in Gaza

Doctors Without Borders is providing support to hospitals and health facilities in Gaza

UNRWA is providing medical support, trauma relief, and food assistance on the ground in Gaza

LEARN: 

Decolonize Palestine has an overview, myth database, and reading list. Support their Patreon here

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Video: Why Hamas Attacked Israel - And What's Next For Gaza by Dena Takruri for AJ+

Paper: Decolonization is not a metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne

Poem: Refugee by Mahmoud Darwish

Essay: My Palestinian Poem that “The New Yorker” Wouldn’t Publish by Fady Joudah

Poem: Shades of Anger by Rafeef Ziadah

Poem: HADEEL by Rafeef Ziadah

Poem: The Shelling Ended by Najwan Darwish

Poem: My Sixteen-Year-Old Mother by Ahlam Bsharat

Documentary: Oceans of Injustice

Essay: Poetry is Not a Luxury by Audre Lorde