"the world is a comedy to those that think and a tragedy to those that feel"
not once have i read an article concerning palestine/israel that is wholly accurate and impartial--whether from the bbc, nytimes, aljazeera, etc. it's interesting to be here, on-the-ground, then read the news, knowing that what is being reported is simply not true or completely obscured. right now, the western powers are threatening to halt aid to the palestinians on account of hamas and its stance on the use of violence against the state of israel. ironic, because i never once heard a western power threatening to discontinue its billions of dollars in aid to israel on account of the violence used daily against palestinians. palestine/israel is a land full of contradictions. i feel as though you cannot live your life here without being blatantly hypocritical i.e. i do not and choose not to support the state of israel, but i purchase israeli products (palestinians are almost entirely dependent on israel economically) thus helping israel's economy, thus also contributing to its military state.
another thing i've noticed here is the much more intimate relationship people here have with life and death. the relationship between life and death is symbiotic...the value of life is heightened maybe as a result of the abnormal number of deaths in this narrow strip of land.
people teem with life; everything feels much more alive and rich with emotion. the unusual death rate, however, cannot account for this intimate relationship because that would not give the palestinian culture itself enough credit. without the occupation, without the number of deaths, without any problems here, the culture still breathes life and energy into every aspect of society. the family and community are the centerpieces of life and people celebrate birth as if it's a sacred gift, bringing another human form into the world. but given the current situation, life perhaps is celebrated more because there is not much else that can bring such joy and happiness. you do begin to appreciate the essence of living and what it means to be alive, because often, that breath is stolen and extinguished from the individual, and stolen arbitrarily. you come to know what it is that you will or would lose if the right to breathe were taken from you.
people have to face loss and grief far too often; to meet a palestinian who has not lost a good friend or family member would be quite odd. moreover, to meet a palestinian who has not been imprisoned, tortured, beaten, or harassed by the israeli military would be unheard of.
people are forced to feel deeply and regularly...you would think that such a wealth, even overwhelming amount, of emotion would drive the population mad. i know from my experience that in my first month here, i did feel as though i was going a bit insane from all of the anger and frustration at the orwellian layers of occupation. amazingly though, you are able to adjust and cope, but still, the emotions remain. i admire and am continually impressed by the resilience of the palestinian people.
not once have i read an article concerning palestine/israel that is wholly accurate and impartial--whether from the bbc, nytimes, aljazeera, etc. it's interesting to be here, on-the-ground, then read the news, knowing that what is being reported is simply not true or completely obscured. right now, the western powers are threatening to halt aid to the palestinians on account of hamas and its stance on the use of violence against the state of israel. ironic, because i never once heard a western power threatening to discontinue its billions of dollars in aid to israel on account of the violence used daily against palestinians. palestine/israel is a land full of contradictions. i feel as though you cannot live your life here without being blatantly hypocritical i.e. i do not and choose not to support the state of israel, but i purchase israeli products (palestinians are almost entirely dependent on israel economically) thus helping israel's economy, thus also contributing to its military state.
another thing i've noticed here is the much more intimate relationship people here have with life and death. the relationship between life and death is symbiotic...the value of life is heightened maybe as a result of the abnormal number of deaths in this narrow strip of land.
people teem with life; everything feels much more alive and rich with emotion. the unusual death rate, however, cannot account for this intimate relationship because that would not give the palestinian culture itself enough credit. without the occupation, without the number of deaths, without any problems here, the culture still breathes life and energy into every aspect of society. the family and community are the centerpieces of life and people celebrate birth as if it's a sacred gift, bringing another human form into the world. but given the current situation, life perhaps is celebrated more because there is not much else that can bring such joy and happiness. you do begin to appreciate the essence of living and what it means to be alive, because often, that breath is stolen and extinguished from the individual, and stolen arbitrarily. you come to know what it is that you will or would lose if the right to breathe were taken from you.
people have to face loss and grief far too often; to meet a palestinian who has not lost a good friend or family member would be quite odd. moreover, to meet a palestinian who has not been imprisoned, tortured, beaten, or harassed by the israeli military would be unheard of.
people are forced to feel deeply and regularly...you would think that such a wealth, even overwhelming amount, of emotion would drive the population mad. i know from my experience that in my first month here, i did feel as though i was going a bit insane from all of the anger and frustration at the orwellian layers of occupation. amazingly though, you are able to adjust and cope, but still, the emotions remain. i admire and am continually impressed by the resilience of the palestinian people.
posted by nadia at 1:32 AM
7 Comments:
Excellent post..
Nice blog..
Peace and best wishes for you..:)
Hi Nadia My family is of Ramallah too. I live in Brazil. I understand the situation. Already I lived in the skin as the fight is very difficult. In any way we continue to pursue this dream of the FREE PALESTINA. Excellent blog ^_^ Good Luck!
Lovely Nadia, this is Sarah from waaay back when at UCB... I am so happy I found your blog - the little that has been posted is heartbreakingly wonderful to read; I'm happy to see that you are doing OK, and that the people continue to survive in the most meager of circumstances... I'll be keeping up with you, and I wish you the best!
(BTW, SJP is back! We allied with latino/indiginous groups in solidarity and threw an awesome protest today (300-500 peeps!), on immigrant rights and Deir Yassin - unified w/ a focus on the Seperation Wall in contrast to the US/Mex Border - surprisingly, the issues beautifully meshed together; as they say "If you are oppressed, then you are Palestininian as well.")
Nadia,
Please forward to Sarah and others in the Bay Area(?)...
On Saturday, April 15th, from 5pm to 7pm, at 16th & Broadway in Sacramento, various local peace groups and other sponsors, including Stephen & Virginia Pearcy, Sacramento for Democracy, Code Pink/Davis Chapter, Code Pink/Sacramento Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility/Sacramento Chapter, Sacramento Coalition to End the War, Not in Our Name Coalition/Sacramento, and Military Families Speak Out (Capital Region), will protest the war and the most corrupt American presidency in history.
The protest will address the fact that our tax dollars continue to fund the deceptively planned, illegal, unjust, immoral catastrophe that Bush absurdly calls a "war on terror."
After spending more than $300 billion in tax dollars, and still counting, we now have civil war in Iraq, over 100,000 dead Iraqi men, women and children, nearly 2,400 killed U.S. soldiers, and more people in the world hate Americans now than ever before.
As if that weren't enough, the Bush administration has also unilaterally infringed upon our civil rights, including by unlawfully invading our privacy by searching, seizing and eavesdropping without warrants, while it has itself acted in complete secrecy. All of these actions have occurred under the pretext of national security, but most are intended to stifle dissent and legitimate resistance.
Our tax dollars also continue to fund Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians--exactly the same U.S. policy that motivated the WTC disaster. This is because pro-Israel lobbies like AIPAC unduly influence U.S. Congress. Recently, Palestinians elected new leaders in a highly monitored, legitimate democratic election (as opposed to our own). But the U.S. and Israeli governments didn't like the outcome, so Israel has been pounding Gaza with artillery ever since, and murdering Palestinian children, while the U.S. has turned a blind eye.
This is "Your Tax Dollars At Work!"
As the tax filing deadline approaches, there's no better time to protest the wasted and immoral use of these U.S. funds. We're entitled to and expect a responsible use of our tax dollars, but we're getting one of the worst deals possible!
Please come out and protest the war, the occupation, the U.S. military presence in Iraq, the Bush administration's corrupt policies, the detriment they've caused us, and Israel's egregious acts against Palestinians.
Everyone is encouraged to bring signs, banners, displays and attention-getters.
We expect a great turnout, so please don't miss it.
if you are the lemon than i am the mint that while fresh and flavorful is no more capable of making lemonade than a swimmer with no arms. the lemons are growing like wildfire and i want to see your face.
if you are the lemon than i am the mint that while fresh and flavorful is no more capable of making lemonade than a swimmer with no arms. the lemons are growing like wildfire and i want to see your face.
hello Nadia..
Nice work..I liked what you wrote.
As a Palestinian blogger this serves our cause in a COSIDERABLE waly. I have been contacted by a researcher and and she asked for your email. I would be pleased if you contacted my through my email.
thanks in advance
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