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Letters from Palestine <br>
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The Rape of Palestine<br>
By Jess Ghannam <br>
Gaza, Palestine <br>
Sep 30, 2004, 11:23<br><br>
<br>
Yet again, Gaza is under siege. Israeli Destruction Forces have
their<br>
tanks, bulldozers, and troops in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya Camp,
<br>
Khan Younis, and Rafah. Another 46 Palestinians have been murdered and 86
<br>
permanently injured. Homes have been destroyed, olive trees uprooted, and
<br>
families torn asunder. Palestinians die a small death every time an olive
<br>
tree is uprooted, every time a Palestinian is killed, and every time
a<br>
family is displaced. These Israeli sieges are systematic, calculated
and<br>
opportunistic. The aim of these sieges is to promote the Zionist
Project<br>
(sometimes referred to as “Occupation”) to completely cleanse
Palestine<br>
of its indigenous Arab rooted-ness, culture, and history. According
to<br>
this colonizing project, the land of Palestine should be free of<br>
Palestinians and any reminder of its Palestinian past, present, and<br>
future. The resistance to this project is, however, fierce,
steadfast,<br>
and continuous. <br><br>
<br>
I was recently in Gaza for almost 2 weeks and witnessed the many faces of
<br>
resistance, struggle, and freedom. I saw the faces of Palestinian<br>
children coming home from school with back-packs filled with books
and<br>
homework--smiling, laughing, holding hands and saying, "see you
tomorrow, <br>
my friend". I saw the families of these children welcoming them home
with <br>
love in their eyes, despite their fears and anxieties. I saw Palestinians
<br>
going to work, passing through hours of dehumanizing checkpoints
trying<br>
to eek out a living to support their families. I saw weddings in
the<br>
evening (about 18) and funerals in the morning (about 20). I heard
the<br>
call to prayer and the Friday sermon calling out to the families of
the<br>
brave defenders of Palestine who paid the ultimate price. And life
goes<br>
on. Our rooted-ness in Palestine goes on. Our history goes on.
Palestine<br>
goes on, and on, and on....<br><br>
<br><br>
It is obvious to everyone here that the main target of the Empire is
the<br>
Arab World. The Imperial Project is to control the natural
resources,<br>
markets, and labor force of the Arab World and to extend American-Israeli
<br>
domination in the region. Palestine is, however, the thorn in the side of
<br>
the Empire. The center of the resistance to the Empire is in
Palestine,<br>
and the epicenter of that struggle is in Gaza. When we resist in<br>
Palestine, we are resisting for our brothers and sisters in Iraq,<br>
Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela and for all people resisting
imperial<br>
aims, globalization, and the ugly ravages of structural adjustment<br>
programs. Israeli occupation of Palestine is a kind of structural<br>
adjustment program. Palestinians no longer enjoy the fruits of
their<br>
labor nor live off of their land. When you go into markets in Gaza
and<br>
the West Bank the shelves are full of the Israeli products, the
products<br>
of our occupiers. The same process is happening Iraq and Afghanistan
and<br>
has happened already in Mexico and Latin American. This is Imperial<br>
freedom and democracy, the kind of freedom and democracy that are brought
<br>
to the indigenous people of the Arab World. It is an imposed
freedom<br>
with imperial strings attached to it. Freedom, as every oppressed
person<br>
knows, is not brought to you, it is taken. This is the nature of<br>
resistance and struggle in Palestine, a taking back of our freedom,<br>
dignity, and right to exist on our own land. <br><br>
<br><br>
How many times will Palestine be raped before the world takes note
and<br>
opens its eyes? You see, when Palestine is raped, all oppressed
people<br>
are raped. And when Palestinians resist dispossession, dislocation,
and<br>
dismemberment from their rooted-ness, they are resisting the
Imperial<br>
dreams of their American/Israeli colonizers who wish to control the
Arab<br>
World and beyond. The struggle for freedom in Palestine is the same<br>
struggle of all oppressed people for freedom and dignity. Do you
believe<br>
in justice and freedom? If you do, then you have to go all the way. There
<br>
is no partial justice. Without genuine justice and freedom in
Palestine,<br>
there cannot be freedom and justice anywhere in the world. <br><br>
Finally, I wish to speak to the inability of some people to go all
the<br>
way with justice, specifically to the so-called progressive movement, the
<br>
so-called left, and to all activists who cannot find it in themselves
to<br>
go all the way with justice in Palestine. This is directed to the
Noam<br>
Chomskys, the Michael Lerners, the Medea Benjamins, and to the
Leslie<br>
Kagans of the world. This is to the Tikkun Community, UFPJ, JVP,
Global<br>
Exchange and to all those individuals and groups who can speak
about<br>
justice and freedom in Iraq, but not in Palestine; who can speak
about<br>
justice and freedom in Haiti, Venezuela, Sudan, and every where else
in<br>
the world, but not in Palestine. It is time to confront your abject<br>
political analyses. It is time to confront your denial and racism. It
is<br>
time to confront your moral hypocrisy. You are complicit in the rape
of<br>
Palestine. <br><br>
I invite you to come to Gaza with me and look into the beautiful
brown<br>
eyes of Reema, a 7 year-old Palestinian child living in the
Jabaliya<br>
refugee camp and tell her and her family that they are not entitled
to<br>
justice, freedom, and the right to return to their village that is only 5
<br>
km from where they now live. Your abject sense of morality and
justice<br>
and vacuous political analyses are empowering the empire. Can you go
all<br>
the way with justice? If not, remember one thing—where there is<br>
occupation and injustice there will always be resistance. <br><br>
© Copyright 2004 by AxisofLogic.com <br><br>
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