It's In Our Hands
This is a story told by many cultures. It’s about an old woman, blind and wise.
Originally I wrote this to get published in another online publication. But that is taking too long. Decided I’d take the matter into my own hands and publish it here. It’s been eating at my soul for months.
This is a story told by many cultures.
This is a story told by many cultures. It’s about an old woman, blind and wise. She is admired by people far and wide. But one day few visitors come and ridicule her abilities and wisdom. They mock her clairvoyance. Ego in hand, they plot a way to prove how much of a fraud she is. Taking advantage of her blindness, they knock on her door and ask her a question. “Old woman, I hold in my hand a bird. Tell me whether it is living or dead.”
She doesn’t answer, for how can she answer if she cannot see?
As the late Toni Morrison recounts the woman’s response, she replies “I don’t know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do know is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands.”
It Is In Your Hands
Right now in our hands, there is an entire nation of people. We as a collective are responsible for their future. Their future is our future. We are interwoven, made from the same fabric.
Beyond the geopolitical theater and diplomatic maneuvering, Palestine is a canvas upon which the collective failures of humanity paint a haunting narrative. This is not merely a political conflict but an intricate tapestry of unmet responsibilities that span human rights, feminism, environmentalism, and the very essence of our shared humanity. Their fabric is woven into all of us.
Recognizing first that Palestine is one of many. Many whose struggles have gone silenced in the shadows and brushed under carpets of empires. But never before have such struggles been broadcast to billions of people directly on their screens. We all are holding Palestinians in our hands.
This land we know as Palestine is one of the cradles of human civilization. It has passed through many hands and many empires. From the Canaanites to the Hebrew kingdoms, Persian empire, Roman, Islamic, Crusader, Ottoman, and the list goes on.
What matters right now, however, is that 1.9 million people of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are displaced and being systematically killed.
Violence against civilians— both at the hands of Hamas and of the Israeli military is unacceptable.
We cannot and must not ignore the facts: the deliberate killings of mass numbers of people.
Not only is this an offense to human dignity and life, but it’s an attack on every pillar our society strives for.
Deprived of clean water, starving from lack of food, no access to safe medical care, no homes, no electricity, no source of heat. Orphans, amputees, elderly, disabled. Teachers, medics, journalists, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons. All are targets.
Human rights, the bedrock upon which we supposedly build societies, are being trampled. The Feminist movement falters as women in Palestine face unimaginable challenges, their struggles overlooked in the grand narrative. Mental health bears the weight of generational trauma and reaches us across oceans.
Palestine, a land known as the Fertile Crescent and home to humanity’s earliest forms of agriculture, is being turned to dust. A place overflowing with biodiversity of plants and animals is being wiped off the map. A matter of environmentalism.
Journalism, the guardian of truth, finds itself challenged in reporting the reality on the ground where journalists are being targeted for sharing their realities with the world. Even digital rights, the new frontier of expression, are curtailed and censored.
Education, the cornerstone of progress and beacon of knowledge, is destroyed. Schools bombed and children massacred. Universities leveled to the ground along with research, catalogs of history, and dreams.
Healthcare, a universal right, is compromised. Hospitals and ambulances have become targets. Paramedics and doctors killed. Medical supplies are non-existent.
Refugee and migrant rights are turned upside down. There is no safe place in Palestine. The directive is to stay and die (by bombs or snipers, hunger or disease), or get exiled into the desert.
This isn't just about Palestine; this is about the very fabric of our global society tearing at the seams. It's about recognizing that every movement, every cause, and every principle we hold dear is interwoven in the intricate dance of our shared existence.
Palestine is a mirror reflecting the collective of humanity. We must rethink what our values are and what we are prioritizing. Not just as nations or as the communities we identify with, but as individuals.
As we hold this responsibility in our hands, let our reply to the question about the bird be clear. We choose empathy. It is in our hands to stand for the principles that define our shared humanity. The story of Palestine is not just a story of pain; it is a call to action, a call to rebuild the wings of hope and justice around the world. We must ensure the birds in our hands soar toward brighter more compassionate futures.
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Note: There is enough polarization going on right now and extremism on both “sides” and it’s only dividing us further. The urgency of the matter is the destiny of an entire people. Life or destruction. I also think it’s important to remember Americans do not equal the US government, Palestinians do not equal Hamas, and the Jewish people do not equal the Israeli government. Prejudice is the most dangerous weapon on earth. Putting aside sides and looking at what is happening to an entire people is what matters right now.
We cannot diminish what is happening in Gaza and West Bank. We cannot brush it off and pretend it doesn’t impact us. Because it does, in ways much larger than we realize.
PS: I’d like to thank my friend Jhuma for his feedback on this article. Often I write stuff that never sees the light of day. This was one of those where I wrote for my own sanity and didn’t expect this to reach other eyes. But my convo with Jhuma changed that. Despite us never meeting in person and living on opposite sides of the world, friendship like that is what gives me a glimmer of hope for our world, and a reason to keep pushing forward. I question how such good and such evil can co-exist in this planet. As another friend would say, we are all singing symphonies on the deck of the Titanic. But if we don’t do what feels right in our souls during our short time on this earth, it would be a pity to go down in silence.
WORKS CITED
Jehad Abusalim, Bing, J., & Merryman-Lotze, M. (2022). Light in Gaza. Haymarket Books.
Morrison, Toni. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 1993.” NobelPrize.org, 2019, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1993/morrison/lecture/.
Sherwood, Harriet. “Gaza Society “on Brink of Full-Blown Collapse”, Says UN Official.” The Guardian, 8 Dec. 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/08/gaza-israel-strikes- un-official. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
“Shock and Terror in Gaza as Bombardment of Shattered Enclave Resumes | UN News.” News.un.org, 1 Dec. 2023, news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144217.
“Palestine Timeline.” Www.worldhistory.org, www.worldhistory.org/timeline/palestine/.