Since 1948, Palestine has continued to struggle for freedom and equality. Palestinians continue to die, but the media stays silent. Blood sheds, but no words are spoken, and no action is being taken. So my question is— where has the humanity gone?
To my people, my words will never be enough compared to what you have experienced. My apologies will not offer you any comfort or assure you that things will be fine, but still, I am sorry. I am sorry that your son’s birthday will also commemorate the three massacres that have killed so many people you know. I am sorry that the summer of 2014 was one of the most tragic time of your life. I am sorry you never knew who won the World Cup because you were too busy fighting for your life. I am sorry that you never got to go to the movies with your friends, or on trips to the beach. I am sorry your childhood was stripped away from you.
I am sorry people in power try to justify your death with politics and that you are only known to the world as a statistic. I am sorry they do not know who you are, or what your favorite color is, or that you’re really good at science. I am sorry they didn’t see that you had hopes and dreams. I am sorry that there is not enough coverage on the news about you and that your situation only gets talked about when a celebrity tweets about it.
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I am sorry you are starving, scared, and locked up in the largest outdoor prison. I am sorry the sound of guns and bombs no longer faze you. I am sorry you had to teach your children how to survive a strike before you taught them how to read. I am sorry the streets are filled with the rubble of what used to be your own house and that you still live with no clean water and electricity. I am sorry you live in a refugee camp, as an outsider in your own homeland. I am sorry that my tax dollars are a part of the aid used to punish you. I am sorry the very world we live in is desensitized to murder, genocide and ethnic cleansing. And lastly, I’m sorry you might not even live to read this letter.
In the words of Albert Einstein, “It would be the greatest sadness to see Zionists do to Palestinian Arabs much of what the Nazis did to Jews.” Just as the Jews overcame and reclaimed their culture, the Palestinians will do the same. Palestine will be ours again someday.
Your land, my land, our land, Palestine. Her breathtaking landscape with her olive trees and beautiful hills has now been transformed into a war zone. She is surrounded by walls and barb-wire that imprison her people. Her beautiful land and rich culture destroyed by the bombs, the tear gas, and the tanks as dead bodies pile up on her. Her beaches and fields have turned into bloodbaths. She has spent seventy years struggling to keep her people on her own land, but is being chewed up on the daily with her people still fleeing from the danger being instilled in her. But she will be ours again someday.
She has suffered enough and you have experienced her downfall. You have been through it all. Through the massacres, and the pain, through the blood baths, the house demolitions and the F-16 flight jets dropping bombs, the Zionist shootings, sieges and blockades, you too have suffered.
How can I complain about a toothache when these people aren’t getting medical attention? How can I complain about my schoolwork, when these children can’t even go to school? I have a comfy bed, food on my plate, and a roof above my head when the people of Palestine have had everything away from them.
I have seen your eyes fill with tears and your face fill with fears. You were abused in concentration camps where you lost all hope. You have seen your mother and father, your brother and daughter slain right before your eyes. You know too much pain and loss, and not enough joy and happiness. You face rejection as the whole world turns their back on you. The same world that once made the promise of “Never Again”.
Nine thousand seven hundred and thirty three Palestinians dead with their blood on the hands of the other side since 2000 (Israel-Palestine Timeline). Five thousand six hundred and sixty seven Palestinian detainees and prisoners held in Israeli custody in June of this year (B’Tselem). Ninety eight checkpoints in the West Bank since January of 2017 (B’Tselem). One hundred and twenty seven government Israeli settlements in the West Bank so far (B’Tselem), with more occurring each and every day. These numbers rule the lives of Palestinians, yet they don’t even make it onto the news.
To the media, there must be a light shed on this situation. The Kiki challenge was once the most shared thing on the internet this year. The debate about whether a dress is black and blue or white and gold once took the world by storm. People were more fascinated about IHOP rebranding themselves as IHOb than the actual issues going on in the world. The media is not focusing on the right things. We need more awareness on what is known as the world’s most controversial conflict. The world is not watching, not listening to their cries, and not caring for their misfortunes. I have lost faith in humanity as we, as fellow human beings, have failed the people of Palestine.
By covering more stories that bring attention to this overseas crisis, you can keep the public’s focus on what is happening in Palestine. Moreover, in addition to raising awareness of how Israel is oppressing the Palestinian people, you need to uncover the things going on behind the scenes. The mainstream media must expose the United States in their support of Israel and the Trump administration’s anti-Palestinian policies. Instead of helping the oppressors, we should be helping the oppressed. Israel is not complying with international law and is performing a mass genocide on these innocent people. Media outlets should bring light to campaigns such as the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, which “Aims to end international support for Israeli violations of international law by forcing companies, institutions and governments to change their policies” (BDS). People need to get involved in the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality, we cannot be silenced anymore. Just as you are free in your own home, Palestinians should be too.
The people of Palestine must have the support of the media so that this conflict can be solved. The media has the power to expose the support behind Israel and to increase the familiarity of the Palestinian people’s situation to the world. Together, we can help stop feeding the madness. There are still people who care, people who try to keep the Palestinian culture alive, people who fight for this cause every day, but more must be done to help Palestine be free again.
Sincerely,
Someone who cares
