“Goodbye.”
Blog by Dr. Toni Pyke
“We are tired of words, the said and the unsaid,
tired of hands that reach out but do not touch,
of eyes that see but do not see.”
(excerpt from: It No Longer Matters If Anyone Loves Us
by Samer Abu Hawwash)
Today is the day I have been dreading.
As I opened my Instagram this morning, I was faced with a black screen and the words “Goodbye.” written in white.
My heart sank, my throat tightened, and the tears flowed.
My heart is broken once again.
I have been following Renad Attallah, an 11 year old ‘influencer’ from Gaza for some time. Through her popular Instagram account, which has 1.5 million followers, Renad shared with us about her daily life in Gaza throughout the siege, while demonstrating her cooking skills and providing us all with lessons on dishes cooked ‘the Gazan way’. As food and other essential items were prohibited from entering Gaza, finding ingredients to share her recipes became challenging. With the famine, finally officially acknowledged in Gaza, there is no food. In the past month, only 14 per cent of the required supplies have been allowed to enter Gaza.
On August 20, Israel’s Defence Minister approved proposals to occupy Gaza City, calling up 60,000 reservists. It also began its military operation to seize the city, where an estimated one million people live. The plans are to “capture” all the city. In 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry recorded 10 new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition”. The total number of reported hunger-related deaths now stands at 313, including 119 children. There is a plethora of evidence that supports these numbers, despite the propaganda.
I also follow other individuals from Gaza on Instagram – doctors, nurses, teachers, dancers, painters, journalists, parents, young people and others who talk about their daily lives under siege. All the while during their short updates, the bombs, the drones, the shots can be heard in the background. I can see the dramatic weight loss of each of them as the famine continues. Some I never see again. And yet, their resilience humbles me and I am in awe of their unyielding capacity to sustain hope, keep living and continue steadfast in their faith. And through all of this, knowing that the world could do something to end this siege, but won’t.
The world has been watching a genocide unfold in full view for nearly 2 years.
This morning, 27th August, Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for the observance of “the duty to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of populations.” He endorsed yesterday’s statement by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Patriarch Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem who stated that “[t]his is not the right way. There is no reason to justify the deliberate and forcible mass displacement of civilians”. They continued by appealing for an end to “this spiral of violence, to put an end to the war and to give priority to the common good.”
We must echo Pope Leo and continue to act and do so now. Our voices must be louder. Our feet must be many. There is so much we can do to make our governments heard. In the UK, despite the extreme police response to peaceful demonstration, the people continue to show up. People of all ages and backgrounds. The same in Germany, where the police response is even harsher. There are demonstrations across Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Here in Ireland, there are regular public protests outside the Central Bank of Ireland to demand that the Governor does not continue Ireland’s complicity in the genocide by renewing the sale of ‘Israel war bonds’. There are regular protests outside the Taoiseach’s office. There are many protests across Ireland. And the call to boycott gets stronger.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has updates on marches and demonstrations and calls to action. The mobile app No Thanks can help to identify which products continue to support the military arsenal that facilitates genocide. This helps you to know which products in your stores to boycott that are linked with defying international law and the massacre of thousands of children, women and men. Join one of the marches in your area. Write to your TD. Support those who speak out and let them know you do so.
Please take action and speak out against this massacre. Make sure that this violence is not in your name.
And please pray for Renad and all those living in Gaza and the West Bank, trying to survive.
If I must die
by Refaat Alareer (1979 – 2023)
If I must die, you must live to tell my story
to sell my things, to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze–
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself–
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale
