Posts tagged: occupation
I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD last night & this afternoon about the political liberation movement in Occupied Palestine. He was most informative, helpful, & gracious; he even offered me a place to rest my head should I wish to see the situation for myself in the West Bank (I do). He is a professor at Bethlehem University, a molecular biologist by trade, & a former Yale professor.
The approach he advocates to this crisis is one of compromise, of meeting in the middle to work out a single-state solution . Unfortunately at the middle of the situation on the ground is an apartheid wall.
Of the 11 million Palestinians in the occupied territories, 7 or 8 million are refugees or displaced persons. The motto of many fighting the racism & inequality of the ultra-conservative Israeli occupation: “To exist is to resist”. Land ownership among Palestinians has reduced from 97% to 8.3% in the past fifty years, robbing many families of their agricultural lifestyle. Of their ancestral homes, worship sites, & burial grounds.
Sound familiar, Americans?
The 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza live under even more spartan conditions. There is a blockade imposed by sea & land that restricts the flow of goods & persons to or from the desert strip. Unemployment is at 50%.
Let’s put that into perspective - during the Great Depression in the United States, unemployment never exceeded 23.6%. Keep in mind that many of the sanctions against Gaza are reflected by current US policy towards Iran, who we are likely to engage in a military conflict if relations continue to deteriorate.
My line of questioning for Mazin was restricted to the extent that United States politics affect the situation on the ground in Israel. The Israel Defense Force uses exclusively US-manufactured & supplied vehicles/armament/aircraft. While he agrees that special interest groups & the corruption of American politics have a negative effect on Palestine’s international status, he does not believe that change must be generated from this side of the Atlantic. He affirmed that progress would be made, indeed is being made, with or without the support of the United States.
I was also curious if a set of hearings like South Africa’s Truth & Reconciliation commissions were appropriate to vent the frustrations of all peoples involved. A sort of national dialogue that would not be framed by the media of either side. He replied that in order for healing to begin on a national level there needed to be a single nation including Israel & Palestine. Acknowledging the reality of their situation & confronting a shared future is his request of the interested parties.
I hope to finance a trip that way this year or next. I’ll be in contact with Mazin until then, so if you should like to coordinate efforts or speak to him yourself please let me know & I’ll send you his contact details.
His most recent book is an incredible read, seventeen chapters spanning the stories of seventeen families. Check it out on Amazon.
The other night at 2 in the morning when we woke up to a mic check that NYC was being evicted.
Today waking up to the FBI New Haven tactical assault humvee driving by.
Seeing the pictures, my friends who have been arrested, everyone becoming paranoid… the possibility we may face a similar fate before long.
I am crying like I did when I watched Tahrir Square surrounded by riot police on Al Jazeera English.
But maybe not. This feels different. Maybe I’m upset that the world I grew up in was lying about itself the whole time. I never considered the possibility that we were the killers, torturers, butchers, & exploiters. My history book never said so.
I have emerged from illness intact once again. The sinus infection going around Occupy New Haven did not spare me her horrors. Attributing this to the fact that I am the only medic at our protest & thereby have touched just about everybody else who is sick I am unsurprised by the results. It has been cold sleeping out of doors, we are learning to adapt to new bacteria & living conditions.
This weekend past was spent at Occupy Philadelphia. Between 800 & a thousand people congregated at city hall in the heart of the financial district. A ten piece band with two MCs hooked up to a power source (mostly solar, with some draw from the building itself) deafened the doubting masses in the roundabout. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Slug let me sleep in his tent as the homeless spilled into the subway system below the street. Humor was widely available: I picked up a Tips for Preventing Sexual Assault pamphlet: it advised me that the most effective way to do that was to simply not assault anybody. The occupiers will likely be evicted next month to make way for a new ice skating rink upon the ground where they have pitched their tents. Meanwhile the city closed 8 schools this week due to budget cuts.
I was able to spend time with my brother & mama dukes in between clinical time riding with New Haven Fire & assisting in the Yale/St. Raphael’s ERs. So much trauma. So much blood. This business I have engaged myself in does not bode well for clean boots. My nausea at the sights & smells has subsided… I have held arterial blood inside someone with my own hands. I fully comprehend the power of what we do now.
Just a quick journal entry, life remains busy & mostly without electrical power. Saying hello & sending love to you all. If you’re in town stop by the medical tent at the Green. I’ve got Omega-3 gummy worms.
