Another article by William Sieghart. Credit of discovery goes to Mushu Tha Lohari.=) Thanks!!
The only way to fight lies is, obviously enough, with truths. Amass enough evidence and eventually people will have to coincide that what is happening in Gaza is nothing short of a full blown genocide.
These past few years have been hard. I’ve been hurt in the most basic way possible by the people I trusted most. It took me a long time to come to terms with what they’d done, what they’d continue to do if I gave them the chance. At first, I rebelled against them. But what I didn’t realize was that in doing so, I rebelled against myself. I questioned, doubted, and felt resentment. And, when I couldn’t come to terms with it, I hated. For the first time in my life, I actually felt hatred.
I’ve never questioned my heart before. I’ve always believed in the good of people, of humankind. I believed in the futraa of human beings. Feeling hate, however, changed my heart. It morphed and twisted into this other… thing. Foreign. Hard and bitter. Cynical, even. I recently had the chance to talk to someone I hadn’t talked to in a long time. Pre-hurt and -hate. He couldn’t believe what I’d become. He told me, like only few people can, that I used to be different. He seen through the facade of optimism and smiles and he seen my heart. And for the first time in a long time, I cried.
After that it was like all the hate died. But it didn’t leave a whole heart behind, a heart that could feel and love and go on like nothing had happened. It left behind a ravaged, devastated organ. I feel like the recipient of a heart transplant. Like there’s this foreign thing inside my body I can’t quite come to terms with. I can literally feel a gaping hole where my heart once was. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t feel joy or pleasure. It’s changed me, in a fundamental way. Mainly, I’ve lost all ability to trust. I’ve become suspicious. I see threats and ill-wishes in the faces of those I love most. Those I know love me. And people pick up on it – I can see it in their eyes. They can see that I can’t and won’t trust them. And it scares them off, and I’m left alone. In a cycle of mistrust and wariness.
I want the old me back; my old heart.
And I believe it’s possible. But it’s going to take a long time. And it’s going to require me to trust. To feel. And most of all, to fight for what they took from me: my faith. In myself and in the good of humankind. InshAllah.
If this weren’t so serious, I’d call it my new year resolution. But it’s so much more than that. This is me picking up the pieces and fighting for who I am. And this post is proof, so one day, God willing, I can say: That is what was. This is what is.
My inbox this morning had an email from Adbusters. I <3 Adbusters. This is why:
Jammers, creatives, meme warriors,
As the bombs continue to rain down on Gaza, frustration with the Western media’s coverage of the war is mounting. Referring to the same event, for example, the International Herald Tribunecarried the straightforward headline “Israeli Mortars Kill 40 Palestinian Refugees,” while CNN ran the headline “Israel: Hamas Mortars Prompted Attack Near UN School.” A public relations war is taking place alongside the bloody conflict and, for the moment, the Palestinians are losing it – badly.
Don’t sit on the sidelines. Our 80,000-strong network can throw its weight behind Gaza in this propaganda war. Here are two things you can do right now:
I strongly suggest reading the article and watching the video. And if you have any pictures you’d like to send, the email is listed above. As most of us know, CNN and the Washington Post, for example, provide very biased coverage. Flip between Al Jazeera International and CNN, for example. This isn’t new. And that is exactly why we shouldn’t stay silent over it.
In the one post I wrote about Hamas I tried very hard to provide the other side of the story. Their side of the story, to be specific. How well I fared is questionable, but I found commentator summed it up beautifully and concisely:
Hamas is one of the last castles of the free world who dare to say NO to the hegemony of the tyrants, and who dare to defend their country and fellow citizens with the minimum they possess, their sole power is their strong belief in their cause.
I believe that Hamas really deserves the respect of all the free people of the world in a time when free and brave people are a scarce currency.
-Anonymous
That is why I support Hamas. Because how can I blame the those who stay silent (including the Arab world) in one breath and on the next condemn the only people actually taking action?
Two more great articles are by Robert Fisk: Why do they hate the West so much, we will ask and The rotten state of Egypt is too powerless and corrupt to act. You gotta respect Fisk.
You, telling it like it is: