One for Gaza
Which side of history will you be on?
This one has taken a long time to write and more so to post. Hopefully it’s not too little too late.
During the last 12 months it has been incredibly difficult to process anything unrelated to my pregnancy and my journey through motherhood.
Everything else has taken a step back, because I needed the time and space to make room for such a huge shift in my life, in our lives. I took a lot of time off social media, I took a lot of time to stare into nothing and let me mind run and reflect on its own, leaning into the boredom and the freedoms and creativity that usually follow it. It has become quite apparent in one of my many reflections that despite my effort to try and get involved in doing my part for Palestinian people I have lacked the toughness, the energy and the ability to think past my own two feet, or more so now my baby boy’s feet’s. Reposting one or two stories really doesn’t cut it.
It is with much humility that I will say I’m not Middle Eastern expert. I don’t like taking sides in a battle that is far more complex than most people would care to admit. I dislike from the bottom of my heart any sort of hate that gets displaced onto anti-semitism and Hamas friendly terrorism. It is tragic what has recently happened in Manchester during a holy period for the Jewish community and my heart goes out to them and their family in this incredibly difficult time. However no one with a soul should be able to stand by and watch the world of a Palestinian families crumble into rubble and dust, and scroll past.
I have not been able to put into words how horrific this feels both from a humanitarian and political perspective. But even more so from a personal perspective because I have been trying to protect my fragile mum brain from constantly thinking that those people could have been us. My baby could have been born on the wrong side of the earth, and he could have been one of the starving infants in the hospitals of Gaza. My family could have been the one remaining homeless just before the birth of my child. My husband could have ended up being the one hustling to get crumbles of food whilst risking his own life. When I see videos of children starving all crammed into a NICU bed, receiving the bear minimum to survive, when I see children traumatised from late night bombings and direct fire, I think of Trevor. I think of my child. I think of the mothers out there who are trying to protect and love and nurture their children with no roof of their heads. How is this still possible in 2025? How can we dismiss this?
At this point there is nothing left to say but to stand with Palestine. To pray for their safety, to claim for their land back. To raise every possible voice there is, even the smallest one, and ask Israel to stop the genocide. The Israeli government is dishonouring the memory of the holocaust by perpetuating one of their own right now on another population. This has gone far past the defending for their land and their people. This is history repeating but this time they’re on the other side of the coin.
It’s hard to believe that we wouldn’t have however already stopped this massacre if it attacked one of our “own”. You can see how double faced this game is when you look at what the reaction for the Ukraine’s war has been in comparison. Rightly so, churches have prayed for Ukrainians. Entire governments have recognised the war as inhumane. Yet a genocide happening in front of our own eyes through the streams and media that constantly flood our phone is arguably far less important. Why? Because we don’t share the same religion, because there is no further political interest to have in taking sides with Palestine but there is much to gain supporting Israel.
Our governments are playing real life “risk” in front of our eyes and we think gosh how inconvenient that all I see on my feed is children and family starving. I’d like my white wellness nonsense back please.
How profoundly privileged we must be to not care about the world because we know deep down we’re safe where we are. Because we know if something like this happened to us the entire world would do something to save us. Because we have the power and we matter. All because we were randomly born on the right side of the world. With the right religion. With the right skin colour.
I can’t bear to look at another starving child. It doesn’t mean I will be blind and oblivious to what’s happening. It doesn’t mean I won’t use the little power
I have left with my words to say something. I’m just ashamed it took so long to do so.
Please if you have an ounce of humanity left in you use your voice, write to your MP, speak up on your platforms. This genocide needs to stop now and for good. No ceasefire will be enough unless it’s honoured fully. No ceasefire should make us forget what Israel has done. Justice is required. Peace is necessary.