A letter from a Palestinian woman to the supporters of Palestine.
I would like to talk to you as the voice of the thousands of Palestinians who appreciate what you are doing. You who have a great commitment to human rights and who actually act upon your beliefs, you risk your life to both witness and tell the truth of what you see. You are a group of people who understand what is happening in the holy land and have decided to dedicate your time, money and energy to the issue. You demonstrate that religion nor race is important when it comes to standing up for the rights of human beings. And every step you take justice and humanity wins.
I want you to trust that your actions are making a difference and changing the violence we see here in our land. Your solidarity is helping fuel our nonviolent fight. Palestinians face many kinds of violence and torture. However, being ignored is the worst punishment of all. Those who refuse to hear and see us are just as bad as those who occupy us. Those who stand in solidarity with us send a strong message of humanity and are helping us to overcome our suffering. In the middle of all this crisis, your help puts a smile on our face. From this smile you will always be welcome in our hearts even if you are unable to enter our land.
Your solidarity reminds the world that we are all one human family and that we Palestinians are still part of it. Please do not give up. Even if your boats do not make it to the shores of Gaza or if your planes refuse to fly, the unseen effects are still huge.
I want to say thank you for all that your work involves. Thank you for booking your tickets, taking time off from work, leaving your loved ones, and for all of the other small things, I am truly grateful.
Please continue to be with us, hand in hand, in our non-violent struggle. We need to reach the end of the path of occupation and your presence on this journey is crucial, we cannot make it alone.
I hope one day to share a coffee with you in my home or in yours, for when this day comes we will have reached our freedom.
Hekmat Bessiso is a Gazan living in Ramallah
you are making me cry. we will never give up.
We Will Set Sail for Gaza Again.
and again and again and again.
Hekmat Bessiso’s beautiful letter made me tear up too, Annie.
This sentence gave me pause though. “I want you to trust that your actions are making a difference and changing the violence we see here in our land.”
“changing the violence” I sure hope by these words she means the violence has lessened somewhat, but then I think of Kate’s daily reports…
What amazing people. So courageous, so determined, so right!
The struggle for Palestinian freedom is now inextricably bound with the defeat of military Zionism. Israelis have to be freed from the grip of the IDF and the settlers.
It would be moral cowardice (a trait endemic amongst politicians and the media) to ignore the punitive, inhuman assault on Palestinians. The very least we can do is try and help in whatever way we can. But I agree – those who risk life and limb against the state brutalism of Israel deserve special mention.
Dearest beloved people of Palestine,
Agnostics, even atheists support you in their millions worldwide.
People don’t need to be religious to recognize injustice and stand up to it.
Everyday Palestine is in the hearts and minds of the whole of humanity. More and more, conscientious people are rising up against Palestinian oppression and suffering.
You’ll never be alone from here on till you and your children are liberated.
Hear, hear.
As an atheist myself, I learned to see it not as a religious conflict per se, but as an issue of justice. Furthermore, one’s religiosity is not an accurate predictor of where one stands in the support of equal justice for all.
Boycott law has passed knesset.
link to haaretz.com
Standing in solidarity with Palestinians, for me, provides me with a conception of how beautiful the world COULD be if our work expands. It is Palestinians who have taught me what it means to stand for justice and compassion, wholeheartedly and unequivocally. With that in mind, I do this work not just for Palestinians, but for everybody.
Hekmat Bessiso, i wanted to share this with you in case you come back and read this comment section. i read it again this morning when i went looking for it to answer a question on another thread and it reminded me of your post here and how astounding it is that you are thanking us for it is us who should be thanking you. and here i am crying all over again. just hang on, for all of humanity please keep holding on. sumud=palestine.
Thanks for all of you, your nice comments make me feel of united with many people I never met, but we met by hearts
We all will continue until bring more love & justice for the new generations