I’ve been scared of a lot of things lately. I’m scared that I made a mistake leaving home the way I did, focused on just getting out instead of what I truly want to do. I’m scared that I’ll never be able to use my voice the way I want to. My silence infuriates and discourages me.
Today is International Day of Solidarity with Palestine. Palestinian people have been living in an apartheid state for the last 75 years. The people living in fear under a hail of IDF bombs, the people who have been living in Gaza under military occupation for years-the Palestinian people need us to bear witness and take action.
We must hold the US government accountable for funding war crimes. I must. My tiny contributions to federal taxes are contributing to violence that I do not condone. The world runs on the violence of human rights violations, but it doesn’t have to. We can demand more from our leaders and from each other. We must demand a ceasefire now to prevent more family lines from ending in rubble.
I understand the desire to be stumped by the idea that this situation is complex. I have been since October. Hamas attacking Israeli civilians and taking hostages is tragic. It has also become a convenient justification for the targeted dehumanization of everyday Palestinians by western powers. Pain and grief do not need to become wrath. Wrath is a choice. As the truce is only temporary, it’s a choice we must urge our leadership not to make.
Injustice happens all the time every day. It happens when we put qualifiers on each other’s humanity, when we make monsters of people to justify our own brutality. We can choose to see the humanity in everyone and keep our empathy intact.
We can all get free.
Palestinians deserve human rights and food and shelter and safety. Free Palestine!❤️🖤🤍💚
….infinite love + peace … Tulani Kiara
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