hello! ๐ I'm looking to open up some slots for character art pieces. if you're interested please reach out, and any shares would help a whole bunch. thanks! ๐จ
In the absence of a clear and obvious angle to attack Bushnellโs protest, most likely due to his status as a serviceman that would make outright insulting him or suppressing the news itself scandalous, discussions on Western shores have now taken on the familiar framing of mental illness. In Time Magazineโs write-up of Bushnellโs death, the article finishes with a link to the suicide hotline, and asks readers to contact mental health providers if they are experiencing a โcrisis.โ Mark Joseph Stern, a writer at Slate, seemingly unasked, also wrote on Twitter/X:
โI strongly oppose valorizing any form of suicide as a noble, principled, or legitimate form of political protest. People suffering mental illness deserve empathy and respect, but it is wildly irresponsible to praise them for using a political justification to take their own life.โ
Conviction does not exist to the American. To be willing to die in a selfless act for what they believe in only exists for those outside America's sphere of influence. Many will recall reporting on those who self-immolated in protest in Iran and in Russia for instance where this sort of approach, unwilling to engage with the root of its cause, would not even be entertained, let alone written and published with sincerity. The Arab Spring began with a self-immolation. The self-immolation of Buddhist monks in protest of South Vietnamโs persecution became defining images of the war and its corruption. Within Americaโs walls however, there is a belief, unspoken and ingrained from birth, that democracy allows for everyoneโs voices to be heard and that its representatives are inherently inclined to respond to the people and their widespread wishes.
Desperation at inaction or complicity in terror and atrocity need not apply. Everyone incensed by their government to such an extent must simply have something wrong with them. To be able to go about oneโs day knowing that children are screaming from the hunger that is eating their insides and that pregnant women are eating bread made from animal feed, and that the United States is supporting Israelโs creation of this famine, is apparently the real sign of well-adjustment.
Seamus Malekafzali, โThe Words Burned Through His Throat: The Sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell,โ February 26, 2024.
In case you lost it - a link to the eSIM donation guide. Even if you feel sick and powerless, you can at least do this. And even if you really, really can't donate, you can always at least share this and remind others.
the lowest tier, which costs 9 dollars, offers a week of connection while the very next, 16 dollars, will provide a full month of contact with the world to someone who desperately needs it. this is not some idle step. an entire month is a huge length of time for people who are displaced, terrified, and isolated.
When people talk about Palestine, I hear a lot of "That's just war", or,"Civilian casualties are just a reality of war". Let me put it into perspective with the average daily death toll from some major conflicts of the 21st century, (not calling the Palestinian genocide a 'conflict', merely using that word for the wars I mention below- language is important!)
Syria 96.5 Sudan 51.6 Iraq 50.8 Ukraine 43.9 Afghanistan 23.8 Yemen 15.8
Keep these numbers in your mind. This is, on average, the daily death toll from other global conflicts. These 'numbers' are all human lives, people who have dreams, and ambitions. They have families, friends, coworkers. Please view these numbers as people for the love of everything.
Now, with that in mind. The 'stat' for Palestine is,
250
250. On average. Every. Single. Day. Why the hell are we watching this. Why the hell are people having to navigate this sort of situation.
If you can't conceptualise this, here is an extra layer of context
That, is 250 people. Remember. Every. FUCKING. DAY.
And in 2 months, this is what it looks like,
That right there is 3000 people. In 2 months, with 250 people on average being murdered every day- they still wouldn't fit in this room.
And U.S. representatives are blocking a ceasefire motion, time and time again.
The total estimated death toll currently sits at nearly 27,500 Palestinians, said by theย Gaza Health Ministry.
This stadium holds 30,000 people.
CALL FOR A FUCKING CEASEFIRE.
(Data used from OXFAM, and the data was from a month ago- so chances are it's only grown since then.)
sometimes I go on tumblr and click on the first 3 random blogs I see and every single one consists of unflagged/untagged NSFW text/pics despite the website having a 13+ signup age, a fully functioning content flagging system that no one uses and literally no other way to opt-out of viewing or manually filter explicit content and I do this just to confirm to myself why I am never coming back to tumblr
Free Palestine - ceasefire now!
There is currently a strike for Palestine taking place from February 18th, 2024, to February 25th, 2024. During this time, I will only be posting about Palestine on this account and doing what I can to spread awareness. If you are able, I highly recommend participating in the strike in whatever way you are able - something is always better than nothing. Staying home from work and/or school, not buying anything that isn't strictly necessary, using your social media platforms only to boost posts about Palestine, etc., are all ways to help the efforts!
Below are various links for ways you can help Palestine, including educational resources, petitions, fundraisers, etc. If you have any to add on, please do, these are just the ones I've found so far.
- Palestine Red Crescent Society
- Palestine Children's Relief Fund
- eSims For Gaza
- Decolonize Palestine (Patreon)
- Jewish Voice For Peace
- Help Gaza Children
- Islamic Relief Canada's Palestine Emergency Appeal
- Medical Aid For Palestinians
- Gisha (Israeli organization working to protect Palestinians' rights to the freedom of movement)
- Click to help Palestine daily
- Palestine Action
- Attend an upcoming protest for Palestine (remember to mask up if possible, COVID isn't over)
- Sign a petition to urge governments to invoke the genocide convention to stop the war on Gaza
- Sign a petition from Amnesty calling for a ceasefire
- Check this list of ways to demand a ceasefire in Gaza
- Sign the petition for Canada to take urgent action for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza
- Download these posters to print out and put up in your area and/or share on socials to build awareness
- Join the BDS boycott
- Check out resources and ways to help from Justice For All
- Donate to the Gofundme for medical expenses for Hisham, a Palestinian-Irish-American who was shot in an anti-Palestinian hate crime in Burlington, Vermont
- The Palestine Academy's Palestine 101
- Palestinian literature recommendations
- Check out Independent Jewish Voices Canada and their campaigns to help Palestine
- Join Palestine Action to help bring down Israel's weapons trade
- Shop Palestine (online store where your purchases support artisans in Palestine and in refugee camps in Lebanon, proceeds go to Middle East Childrenโs Alliance's work supporting Palestinian children)
- Donate direct aid to Gaza (run by a longtime activist and volunteer who has been carrying out donations and humanitarian projects in Gaza since 2021)
- Buy from the Hirbawi factory (this is the last kufiya factory in Palestine that is still active, purchasing helps support the Palestinian economy, which has not been in a great state for a while)
- Spreadsheet listing mutual aid
People & countries mentioned in the thread:
- DR Congo - M23, Cobalt
- Darfur, Sudan - International Criminal Court, CNN, BBC (Overview); Twitter Explanation on Sudan
- Tigray - Human Rights Watch (Ethnic Cleansing Report)
- the Sรกmi people - IWGIA, Euronews
- Hawai'i - IWGIA
- Syria - Amnesty International
- Kashmir- Amnesty Summary (PDF), Wikipedia (Jammu and Kashmir), Human Rights Watch (2022)
- Iran - Human Rights Watch, Morality Police (Mahsa/Jina Amini - Al Jazeera, Wikipedia)
- Uyghurs - Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) Q&A, Wikipedia, Al Jazeera, UN Report
- Tibetans - SaveTibet.org, United Nations
- Yazidi people - Wikipedia, United Nations
- West Papua - Free West Papua, Genocide Watch
- Yemen - Human Rights Watch (Saudi border guards kill migrants), Carrd
- Sri Lanka (Tamils) - Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
- Afghans in Pakistan - Al Jazeera, NPR
Ongoing Edits: more from the notes / me
- Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh/Azerbaijan (Artsakh) - Global Conflict Tracker ("Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict"), Council on Foreign Relations, Human Rights Watch (Azerbaijan overview), Armenian Food Bank
- Bahรกสผรญs in Iran - Bahรก'รญ International Community, Amnesty, Wikipedia, Minority Rights Group International
- Kafala System in the Middle East - Council on Foreign Relations, Migrant Rights
- Rohingya - Human Rights Watch, UNHCR, Al Jazeera, UNICEF
- Montagnards (Vietnam Highlands) - World Without Genocide, Montagnard Human Rights Organization (MHRO), VOA News
- Ukraine - Human Rights Watch (April 2022), Support Ukraine Now (SUN), Ukraine Website, Schools & Education (HRW), Dnieper River advancement (Nov. 15, 2023 - Ap News)
Reblogs with Links / From Others
- Indigenous Ppl of Canada, Cambodia, Mexico, Colombia
- Libya
- Armenia Reblog 1, Armenia Reblog 2
- Armenia, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Indigenous Americans, Black ppl (US)
- Rohingya (Myanmar)
- More Hawai'i Links from @sageisnazty - Ka Lahui Hawaii, Nation of Hawai'i on Soverignty, Rejected Apology Resolution
- From @rodeodeparis: Assyrian Policy Institute, Free Yezidi
- From @is-this-a-cool-url: North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA)
- From @dougielombax & compiled by @azhdakha: Assyrians & Yazidis
- West Sahara conflict
Last Updated: Feb. 19th, 2024 (If I missed smth before this, feel free to @ me to add it)
Sudan is going through a famine, and with Ramadan coming up (this year it'll start March 10th), it would be nice to donate so that families can have food and medicine.
With the exchange rates for many of us, even a small donation could help in a big way, you don't need to donate the full $30.
Direct link to the gofundme:
Palestinians deserve peace, happiness, comfort, and everything else that Israel has stripped away from them. There is no justification. This is genocide. The people of Palestine need our help.
Free Palestine. Death to Israel.
To donate eSims: gazaesims
To donate via: Operation Olive Branch
ICJ Hearing on Legal Consequences of Israel in Occupied Palestine, 19/Feb/2024 - from Palestine's Legal Team:
๐Data sources under the cut๐
๐ต๐ธ IMPORTANT ICJ UPDATE๐ต๐ธ
This starts today, 19th February 2024 and continues until Next Monday 26th February 2024. See times below, they will all be streamed live here or here on Al Jazeera Live
"The International Court of Justice in The Hague will hear from 52 countries and three organisations on the legal consequences of Israelโs occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since 1967.โ " from Al Jazeera English, 19/Feb/2024:
hey! you! if you wanna do something this strike week, consider purchasing some esims to distribute to palestinians! these are often the only way some people are able to access the internet & their loved ones.
instructions & more information can be found here โฌ๏ธ
๐ต๐ธ http://gazaesims.com
i just bought two, one for holafly and one for nomad, and it was super straightforward!
use codes HOLACNG and NOMADCNG respectively for a small discount.
spread the word! find a friend to buy one with you! don't grow complacent & don't look away.