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<h1 class="gmail-single_title">The fight for dignity: Reshaping Gaza’s post-war narrative</h1>
<div class="gmail-article-author"><h3>By <a href="https://english.palinfo.com/?p=250012"> Ramzy Baroud </a></h3></div>
<p class="gmail-single_date">Sunday 19-January-2025</p>
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<p>Following every Israeli war on Gaza, numerous narratives emerge. Some
claim victory for one side and defeat for the other, while others –
knowingly or unknowingly – attempt to exploit the aftermath for their
own purposes.</p>
<p>The latter is not always nefarious, as the humanitarian calamities
resulting from Israel’s actions are undeniable – especially as Israel
and its allies often use aid to Palestinians as bargaining chips for
political concessions or to exert pressure on the Strip and its
leadership.</p>
<p>This dynamic often results in the exploitation of Palestinian
suffering to raise funds, sometimes by organizations with high overhead
costs, leaving independent researchers puzzled over the discrepancies
between the funds collected and the funds allocated.</p>
<p>Additionally, Gaza lacks an independent commission to track all
received funds and their usage, which leads to controversies and public
accusations at times.</p>
<p><strong>Exploiting Gaza<br></strong>However, this is a topic for
another discussion. The issue at hand here is the portrayal of Gaza’s
victims – particularly children – without dignity or respect for their
privacy, all in the name of helping Palestinian victims.</p>
<p>Throughout the latest Israeli assault on Gaza, the desperation of
many Palestinian families, faced with famine and extermination, led them
to seek help from international donors, often turning to online
donation platforms.</p>
<p>Many of these personal fundraisers were, of course, legitimate, as
Gaza was entirely pushed past the point of starvation. Yet, suspicious
accounts also appeared, raising money for individuals – real or imagined
– who had not sought assistance.</p>
<p>Perhaps future researchers will uncover how Gaza has been exploited
by online profiteers and determine how to regulate such practices.</p>
<p>We hesitated to raise this issue during the war, fearing that a
single misstep could have dire consequences for an individual or a
family. Now that a ceasefire has been signed, it is crucial to open the
conversation to scrutiny.</p>
<p><strong>Reclaiming the narrative<br></strong>The latest Israeli war
on Gaza was not ordinary, but then, no previous wars have been anything
but destructive and lethal. For Israel, it was a genocide – a war aimed
at exterminating Gaza’s population through mass killings and driving the
survivors into Egypt.</p>
<p>Thanks to the legendary steadfastness of Gaza’s resistance and the
unbending spirit of its people, Israel failed. As Israeli writer David
K. Rees said: “For the first time, Israel just lost a war”</p>
<p>This is the Gaza that most Palestinians want us to know and remember –
a symbol of collective strength and resistance. Their hope is that this
message can reverberate around the world, not only to elevate the
centrality of Gaza and Palestine in all political discourse but also to
inspire oppressed groups globally to fight for their rights
unapologetically.</p>
<p>Sadly, though sometimes understandably, that message is not one many are eager to champion.</p>
<p>Many will continue to see Palestinians only as victims. While this
narrative may hold Israel accountable for its genocide, it fails to
recognise the agency Palestinians have earned and deserve.</p>
<p>However, at times, this viewpoint can be understandable, especially
in charitable causes, where the immediate need for aid must be
addressed. Yet, it is possible to strike a balance – between meeting the
urgent needs of victims and honoring their dignity, resilience and
collective power.</p>
<p><strong>Not hapless victims<br></strong>The exploitation of
Palestinians, especially their children, as tools for fundraising must
end. Gaza’s children, many of whom are amputees, should not be paraded
in the most degrading manner to appeal to wealthy donors. The world
already knows what Israel has done to the Palestinian people –
especially the children of Gaza, who suffer the highest rate of child
amputations globally.</p>
<p>This is not to deny the suffering. We are proud and humbled by every
Palestinian child – whether martyred, injured, amputated, or emotionally
scarred. However, instead of portraying them as helpless victims, we
must celebrate them as poets, artists, reporters and representatives of
their people.</p>
<p>The time has come for a new narrative, one fundamentally different
from those that have emerged in the wake of previous wars. The new
narrative must position Gaza as the heart of the Palestinian struggle,
as a model for humanity, and as the central path for the liberation of
Palestine – which, thanks to Gaza, now seems closer than ever.</p>
<p><strong>Don’t help Israel<br></strong>To betray this fact is to
betray Gaza and all its sacrifices. A victim-only narrative that ignores
the larger political context risks undoing the gains made by
Palestinian popular resistance in Gaza and inadvertently helping Israel
reintroduce a fear-driven discourse. After 15 months of relentless
genocide, Israel has failed to instil fear in Gaza’s population – and it
must not succeed in rebuilding it.</p>
<p>Yes, we must spare no effort to help Gaza rebuild and resume its
historical role as the leader of the Palestinian liberation movement.
But we must do so with sensitivity, compassion, and above all, respect
for Gaza and its unparalleled sacrifices.</p>
<p><em>-Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of the Palestine
Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is ‘These Chains
Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli
Prisons’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center
for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East
Center (AMEC).</em></p>
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