The day is still
Memories call,
Birds cheerfully sing
As deadly virus spreads,
Around me flowers
Spread in splendid array,
Raise their heads
On fine Spring day.
Silence is golden
As if in a dream,
Nothing intrudes
It almost feels supernatural,
Though sadness whispers
Deep in the undertones,
We are made strong by Love
Across the globe, daily shared.
We are facing a strain
Alone, but together,
Facing new beginnings
As another day grows,
NHS workers on the frontline
Bravely risking life and limb,
The sun at least shining down
Butterflies fluttering, raising novel hope..
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal
name of the Chilean poet-diplomat and
politician Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto ,who has been hailed as one of the greatest poets of Latin America. He's certainly a favourite of mine. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 10
years old. He wrote in a variety of styles,
including surrealist poems, historical epics,
erotically charged love poems such as the ones in
his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of
Despair (1924). His epic masterpiece , Canto General was published in 1950. .He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1971.
From his twenties into his thirties, he was not a man of politics. The turning point in his political development came in 1936 with the execution in 1936 by a fascist militia of the leftist Federico Garcia Lorca, a fellow poet and dear friend. Thenceforth, Neruda turned anti-Fascist, which in the calculus of the Spanish Civil Wat meant that he became a Communist. He maintained this ideological position for the rest of his life.
When in 1973 Augusto Pinochet instigated a coup d'etat against the regime of Marxist President Salvador Allende of Chile, Neruda was a prominent target. The circumstances of his death indicate that he had been poisoned, probably on Pinochet's orders. Neruda died soon after he had been injected in the stomach by a doctor..
With currently nowhere to go, nothing to do, streets empty, sky
quiet, but for the sound of birds. I've been finding solace in a beautiful poem called Keeping
Quiet written by Neruda in the 1950;s and published posthumously in the 1974 bilingual collection Extravagaria, his words reflecting our current world, that sees the global population getting withdrawn into itself by pandemic, as humans step back and
focus on surviving day by day.
Pablo Neruda's Keeping Quiet is a contemplative poem that advocates for silence, introspection, and a collective pause in the rush of modern life. Written in simple yet powerful language, the poem is a meditation on the need for self-awareness, human connection, and harmony with nature. Neruda, often known for his politically charged and passionate poetry, takes a more introspective and philosophical stance here, reflecting his concern for the future of humanity and the planet.
So rare is real silence that many people cannot even tolerate it. The
void of silence must be filled with sound to keep ourselves from
ourselves. In these days of contemplation and increasing self awareness, Neruda's poem acts like a message for our times. In the poem Neruda wishes for a profound silence and stillness that would alleviate the sadness caused by a lack of self understanding and the threat of self destruction.
The poet begins with counting twelve urging everyone to be still. He chose
‘twelve` for several reasons. ‘Twelve’ hints at the twelve hours of a day which
rules our life. ‘Twelve` refers to twelve zodiac signs believed to be the
controlling forces of our lives.‘Twelve` refers to twelve months of a year and if
we believe numerology its the digit of peace and prosperity. ‘Twelve` even may be
aimed for a preparation for all to be ready to plunge into the state of silence.
The poet warns us that his
message of silence should not be
confused with total inactivity or
inertia. He further clears that his
message does not have any affinity
with death even. His message is aimed
at the way of living. He wants us to
stop a while and feel the calmness so
that a positive introspection is done. As the days ring with uncertainty and fear, who knows, the future might deliver to us a new normal. But for now, we have to step back in order to care for each other. May we all be well, and safe, and free from suffering.May we all know peace and happiness. Please be kind to another.
Keeping Quiet - Pablo Neruda
Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
for once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fisherman in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about...
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems to be dead in winter
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
.
—from Extravagaria by Pablo Neruda (translated by Alastair Reid, 1974)
Two earlier posts on Pablo Neruda can be found here :-
As U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care with
coronavirus with condition said to be improving, and receiving “excellent care” at St Thomas’
Hospital in London where he is being treated.On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to legendary journalist and film-maker John Pilger about the Coronavirus (COVVID-19) pandemic. He discusses the fact that the Conservative government was warned about shortages leaving the NHS vulnerable in pandemics 4 years ago, the damage privatisation has done to the National Health Service, budget cuts which have seen bed capacities fall to record lows, his criticisms of the Boris Johnson administration’s response to Coronavirus, the lack of mass-testing in the U.K. which has been seen in other countries such as Germany, South Korea and China, the government blaming China for the Coronavirus crisis, the threat to Julian Assange’s life as he is denied release from prison as Coronavirus claims its first victim in Belmarsh Prison and more!
April 7th marks the occasion of the 70th
anniversary of the observance of World Health Day. The special awareness
day was established in 1948 by the first World Health Assembly (WHA).
The WHA is the governing body over the World Health Organization (WHO),
the sponsor of World Health Day.
As a part of its foundation, WHO created a definition of health that hasn’t needed to be altered since:
"Health is a a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
The organization’s team, headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland, has worked to advance health through the last
70-plus years. More than 7,000 work for the World Health Organization
across 150 countries.
Typically,
the WHO “organizes international, regional, and local events” for World
Health Day devoted to a selected theme.This year’s World Health Day theme couldn’t be more apt as it is
dedicated to honour the fundamental role nurses and midwives play in the health system, across the globe. However, given the current Coronavirus pandemic, the day is likely to
be observed primarily, if not exclusively, via digital media, but amid this world pandemic with incalculable consequences for humankind, the
invaluable contribution these roles play is as apparent as ever, after all without them there would be no COVID-19 response.
The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. By issuing prompt action with COVID-19, WHO spurred nations to develop
intense action plans to help contain the novel coronavirus. As the coronavirus continues to spread across 200+ countries and
territories, with more than a million cases diagnosed and significant
loss of life, the ability to respond by limiting transmission, keeping
vulnerable populations safe, and maintaining a functional health system
will determine the speed of recovery in each country. Unfortunately,most countries are ill-equipped to respond to a pandemic of this scale. Part of this can be attributed to shortages and limitations of the nursing workforce.
As the pandemic sweeps the globe nurses are on the front lines of the response and are going above and beyond to keep health systems functional.Physically
and mentally exhausted, nurses are working around the clock to provide
care, putting themselves and their families at risk of infection. And
they’re doing so in a setting where personal protective equipment supplies are dwindling.
Even before the crisis, the global nursing workforce was not growing fast enough to meet universal health coverage targets and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Although the global shortage of nurses slightly decreased from 6.6
million in 2016 to 5.9 million in 2018, almost 90% of the deficit is in
low- and lower-middle-income countries. Here the number of trained
nurses is barely keeping pace with population growth. Health emergencies
exacerbate these imbalances and put further stress on the existing
health workforce. Nurses are frequently the first and highest-level provider for primary care. They are essential to expanding delivery of health services to remote populations.Evidence shows that nurses are also instrumental in improving health sector productivity. and patient outcomes, and they are less expensive to train and deploy
than other professional health workers. Investing in the nursing
workforce presents a triple return on health, economic growth, and
gender equity.
The global health organisation, along with its partners, will make a
series of recommendations to strengthen the nursing and midwifery
workforce worldwide.
According to the WHO, a strengthened
workforce of nurses and midwives is significant to ensure that everyone
gets the healthcare they need and for countries to achieve their
“national and global targets related to universal health coverage,
maternal and child health, infectious and non-communicable diseases
including mental health, emergency preparedness and response, patient
safety and the delivery of integrated, people-centered care, amongst
others”.
World Health Day comes this year at a time when the
entire globe is struggling to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. Prioritizing and protecting the health care workforce is critical now
— not only because their own lives are at risk, but also because
patients rely on them to continue providing care. As the coronavirus continues to spread in the weeks and months ahead the world is at risk of exhausting our nurses at a time when we need them most. It's incredibly important for us to honor and show gratitude
towards all of the people working at the hospitals, that have to continued to go to work when a lot
of people around the world are staying at home and they’re putting
themselves at risk every single day to go into the hospitals and be
around people that have the Coronavirus. They’re also working incredibly
long hours. I imagine their stress levels are through the roof. It's so important for us to celebrate these
people that are doing things that I can’t imagine during this time. The Covid -19 pandemic has bought to plain sight the burden these care givers carry as they work so hard to ensure the rest of us enjoy good health and has exposed the fragile health system that we have been previously been taking for granted.
A lot of us feel helpless at this present time. We feel helpless for our own
health. We may feel more helpless than ever being in our homes and
isolated from one another. What we can do is turn our
attention away from the daily superficial things that we may be used to
doing and reflect on what’s most important to us and how we can
contribute to society.So today let's celebrate the nurses, midwives and all health workers who are heroically on the COVID-19 frontline, take a moment to thank them and show them your appreciation. for keeping us healthy.They are your neighbors, friends, and family. The majority of frontline
health workers are women. Without them, there would be no health
services for millions of families worldwide.They are the backbone of effective health systems and often come from the very communities they serve. Let’s remember
that now more than ever, we must play our part, too, and do all within
our power to keep critical healthcare workers safe. This is not only the right thing to do, we owe it to them today and everyday.
Before lockdown often seeked forms of isolation
Beyond the hiss and roar of civilization.
I'd sit by windows open, watch the shadows creep
As the moon sailed in and out of clouds,
And as the night grew ever deeper
Would listen to the hooting of owls,
I'd lie and wonder, find peace among the darkness
Instead of feeling locked up, thinking there was no way out.
I'd wait for a lover to call, with a key of their own
To deliver the taste and milk of human kindness,
After times sometimes got filled with hopelessness
Would arrive and fill my heart with gladness,
Leading me from despair to hope
As the skies gleamed and the trees swayed,
Penetrating my senses with smiles so radiant
Whispering secrets, releasing calming scent.
Sometimes cool or intense as fire
Solving problems, as incense dispersed,
Outside on the streets,voices heard dearly
Tempered by the Sun's warm embrace;
Now the air is thick with quietness
The whole world seems to be in mourning,
But they say there's a God somewhere
Beyond the silence, I can almost hear her laughing.
Tony Benn spoke out about the greedy among us, the multinationals, against wars for profit. A champion of the abolition of the monarchy who supported any strike that was going. he stood shoulder to shoulder with us all. with unfaltering belief and abiding determination, with his voice clearly saying that the powerful should always be held to account.
He was one of the most important figures on the socialist left in
Britain and there was hardly ever been an
important working class gathering that did not tried to
secure Benn as a speaker. And whenever possible he would speak.
He was for decades the most independent-minded, powerful and
passionate voice at Westminster, and the man whose
crusading zeal led to the new law which allowed him to renounce his own
peerage and return to the House of Commons.He utterly ignored his own personal prospects in order to get his message across.
Tony was an inspiration to a whole generation of socialists and activists whose radical vision of a better, fairer society continues to inspire today.He was a rare breed indeed, who offered genuine ideas, based on unwavering principles and convictions. A man of great honesty and integrity. The world remains poorer without his warm spirit.
We must continue his deeds, set about building a genuine alternative to capitalism. On the torch of his belief in a better world and his determination , there lies a world where politics is not the language of brute force.
With his articulated voice Tony Benn delivered a vision of the possible, a tireless fighter for peace, justice and equality his legacy remains as strong as ever.
"There is in every human heart from the beginning of time there have been two flames burning, the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world. And those two flames are burning in our hearts today, in the hearts and minds of millions of people. " - Tony Benn
Dare to be a Daniel, was the title chosen by Tony Benn for
his early memoir, the first lines of the following poem are from an old
salvation Army hymn that had been sung to him by his parents. I try to
keep faith, dare to be different.
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone,
Dare to have a purpose firm,
And dare to let it know.
Dare to stand with the voiceless,
the occupied daily denied,
stand shoulder to shoulder,
with devoted words of meaning,
committed breaths carrying no fear.
Seed the earth with love,
persistent grains of freedoms cry,
move forward with language of hope,
in blazing movements of united flow.
Seek out the hallmarks of truth and justice,
drink from the vessels of life,
keep faith as our changeless songs hum out,
in fearless cry, together we right their wrongs.
On the breeze, our voices lift,
for tomorrows bright sun to shine again,
leave footprints by rivers' wave of friendliness,
in flows of solidarity and stealth.
I’m
seeing a lot of sympathetic ‘he’s only human!’ ‘he’s doing the best he
can!’ ‘aww he’s clapping for the NHS, he’s good at heart’ type posts for our Prime Minister 'Bojo the Clown ' Johnson so
I’ve compiled a list of reminders why you should NOT feel sorry for Johnson (or any Tory for that matter) at this time of national crisis :
1, He received early
warnings from the World Health Organisation of the severity of COVID-19
and the need for immediate social distancing/lockdown measures and
ignored them, instead telling us to wash our hands to the tune of ‘happy
birthday’. Lives will be lost due to his inaction.
2. His slow
actions in implementing a lockdown have set us weeks behind other
European countries; countries where doctors are now forced to supply
respirators only to those most likely to survive as they simply don’t
have the resources to treat everyone. Our NHS is pushed to its limit
now, weeks before our case numbers are due to hit peak. He has slowed
our progress and risked the collapse of the NHS when we need it most.
3, He scoffed at the mention of ‘closing pubs’ and ‘employing police to
the streets’ DAYS before implementing these procedures. Wondering why
people didn’t take the sudden lockdown seriously?
4. Lockdown and
forced closures occurred after St Patrick’s day - many went out to
celebrate regardless of the virus panic because Johnson failed to force
closures of public spaces in time.
5. He told people to ‘stop
going the pub’ before forcing pubs/bars/restaurants/cafes to close,
meaning businesses couldn’t claim on their insurance. Your favourite
local independents probably won’t survive this.
6. He brazenly
ignored expert advise to brag about shaking hands (?) with patients -
this sent mixed messages to the public and gave the ‘it’s just a bad
cold!’ crew validation. Why practice social distancing if the PM isn’t
going to?
7. The Tory party has a track record for drastically
cutting NHS funding, leaving it on the brink of collapse. Tories stood
outside no.10 last night and clapped for the NHS - Tories also clapped
the day they voted against giving NHS workers a pay rise.
8. The
workers his party deemed ‘unskilled’ are now deemed ‘key workers’,
risking infection daily to keep the country afloat for - in almost all
cases - no extra pay.
9. His refusal to protect construction
workers’ wages is leading to overcrowded building sites, risking
infection for workers and their families - this is NOT essential work.
10. That £350 million promised to the NHS by Brexit campaigners - the face of which was Boris himself - where is it???
11. Jeremy Corbyn produced redacted documents indicating that the Tories were essentially selling the NHS - Johnson did not deny this.
12. He made fun of Corbyn’s ‘magic money tree’ claiming funds to help
house the homeless and improve the NHS simply didn’t exist. By Thursday,
all homeless in the country are expected to be housed and 80% of wages
paid to support businesses through the pandemic.
13. They stood by and watched as billionaire scumbag Richard Branson successfully sued the NHS.
14. He lied about parking fees for NHS staff being necessary - it took a GLOBAL PANDEMIC to get them free parking.
15. He reduced public transport operations before offering wage
subsidies and forcing closures, leading to dangerously overcrowded buses
and trains.
16. Remember the NHS nurses and doctors sobbing on
your timelines, begging that you don’t vote for the Tories and their
cuts? We’re paying for failing them with our lives and theirs.
17. He callously went for the herd immunity strategy to ‘protect the
economy’, with the elderly and sick paying the price. Johnson knew he
was experimenting with lives, telling us that ‘many more families are
going to lose loved ones before their time’. Many of these lost lives
would have been preventable.
18. When Johnson developed a cough and fever he got a test for the new coronavirus. Most other Britons wont be offered one.
His government is now under fire for failing to keep its promise to increase the amount of testing being done for COVID- 19. Wednesday was the biggest day to day rise yet in deaths among the virus, to 2,352.
The death total in Wales is now 98 with an increase of 29 in the last 24 hours. The UK governments target for 10,000 tests a day was again missed with 9,793. tests performed. 4,234 of those were positive. It is now more than clear, that Johnson will be remembered for his handling of Covid-19.
As the coronavirus crisis carries on, people dying every day. While we mourn who has passed, please keep strong and try and stay safe, stay at home to stop coronavirus from spreading.
And remember that thanking Johnson for his present leadership is like thanking a thief for returning your empty purse after stealing all the money out of it. Coronavirus wasn’t preventable but the rapid spread of it and the criminal underfunding of the NHS was. Remember to hold him accountable when this is all over.
, on
31st March 1990 people took to the streets of London and fought
back against Margaret Thatchers' hated and controversial ideological driven 'Community Charge', which was first introduced in Scotland in 1989, and the following year the flat rate tax was then
introduced in England and Wales in 1990, leading to a massive backlash, and widely condemned at the time by social campaigners as it meant the rich now paid the same rate of tax as the poor. The main objections were the fact that the same amount
was paid by everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, and that
liability was determined by being on the electoral roll. Thus it was
dubbed the 'Poll Tax'. Thatcher was famously stubborn, and refused to reconsider.
She should have, because ,the introduction of the poll tax was widely
unpopular from the outset, and increased when tax rates set by many
local councils turned out to be much higher than initially predicted resulting in Thatcher's increased unpopularity. Local groups opposed to the tax , known as Anti-Poll Tax Unions sprung
up across Britain, encouraging non payment, organising protests, and
resisting bailiffs. But I
remember the
Labour Party at the time shamefully announcing at their 1988 conference that they would not
support those who
refused to pay.
However despite of this failure a number of groups were created by activists on the left to support the
non-payment of the tax and assist those who experienced legal troubles
as a result of non-payment. The most important of these groups was the
All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation (ABAPTF), organised by Militant,
which used the local trade unions to help build a campaign of
non-payment. The Socialist Workers Party, the other major far left
organisation in Britain at the time, had a much more ambivalent attitude
towards non-payment and the ABAPTF, which allowed Militant to become
the dominant group campaigning against the Poll Tax. Outside of the
Trotskyist far left, several anarchist groups also supported
non-payment, especially the Anarchist Communist Federation who produced a
pamphlet called Beating the Poll Tax (ACF 1990). People were encouraged not to stump up the money under the slogan "Can Pay, Won't Pay."
On this day, over 250,000 people sweeped into London, for many people it was not a case of wanting to demonstrate, it was
a case of having too. There was no choice, this cruel tax would have
seriously impacted on peoples lives.Most people on the day of
this demonstration, arrived unaligned - ordinary people, families,
pensioners, the unemployed, students, black and white, all united as
one to fight against this immoral tax.
The
overriding opinion of the time,is that what started as a peaceful
protest, with an almost carnival feel to it against an illegal tax was
quickly turned into a bloody battle by uniformed thugs acting under
Thatcher's orders, with aided and abetted by agent provocateurs.Police shut an over-full Trafalgar Square at 2.30pm and blocked off
either end of Whitehall, leading to a mass sit-in near the entrance to
Downing Street. After requests to move along were ignored, they began
to arrest demonstrators.
At 4pm, the use
of charged mounted police aggravated the situation, leading to
many peaceful bystanders with heads streaming with blood. A very
frightening experience. as mounted police began to push marchers out to the corners of
the square, skirmishes began. Police vans were struck and officers were
pelted with building materials, while a fire broke out at the adjacent
South African embassy.
Later, police pushed demonstrators out of Trafalgar Square, sending some
towards Soho and away from their transport near the river. Some
marchers, angered by police tactics, overturned and set cars alight, and
smashed a number of shop windows.some looting began, and small groups began skirmishing with police, such was the anger and rage
unleashed. I for one will never condemn the anger unleashed on this day in 1990, it is the inevitable result of what happens when you push people to far..
By the end of the day, 339 people were arrested (mainly for public order
offences) and 86 people were injured. Out of 2,198 police officers on
duty, 374 of them had been injured, with 58
requiring hospital treatment. Materially, there were around 250 reports
of property damage as well, the cost of which was later estimated at £400,000.
To this day many people lay the
responsibility of the violence that happened on this day, firmly on the
shoulders of Thatcher and her government. Despite the demonisation
of the protesters in the mass media, people still refused to pay, the
campaign flourished, culminating in millions of people's non payment,
bailiffs were resisted, courts unable to cope because of opposition and
active resistance as more and more people said "can't pay, won't pay"
It would see the Poll Tax becoming uncollectable and unviable and eventually being destroyed, the tax was abolished in 1993 some £2bn in arrears.Thatcher’s popularity was at an all time low, the poll ratings of the
Tories were dire and sections of the Tory Party – representing the
interests of the ruling class – decided she had to go along with her
“flagship” policy. It was Thatcher’s refusal to back down over the poll
tax that ultimately brought her downfall..
Thatcher
resigned in November 1990 and on 21 March the poll tax was abolished , and Thatcher's successor John Major announcing its
replacement by the more progressive council tax, which at least took some account into
peoples ability to pay, which is still in operation to this day. In her own memoirs she cited the
abandonment of the poll tax as “one of the greatest victories for these
people [the working class – especially anti-poll tax campaigners] ever
conceded by a Conservative government.”
Many years later, the same simmering resentment towards the
Conservative Government still exists. It seems that the tories have
still not learnt from their past mistakes,with the introduction of , universal credit and other horrors. The resistance to
the Poll Tax is a reminder to all people who say it is impossible to
fight back and that with clear. purpose and united mobilisation, it is possible to defeat the forces of reaction
.
Today, 30th March, is Land Day in Palestine and is marked by Palestinians wherever they live. Land Day is held on the anniversary of March 30, 1978,when Palestinian
villages and cities across the country witnessed mass demonstrations
against the states plans to expropriate 2,000 hectares of land in and around the Arab
villages of Araba and Sakhnin as a part of a plan to "Judaise the
Galilee".Israel's Galilee region. In coordination with the military, some 4,000
police officers were dispatched to quell the unrest.As
demonstrators blocked roads and shouted slogans such as "these villages
belongs to us, not to Israel", they were met with live ammunition from
the Israeli army killing six protesters - Khayr Muhammad Yasin, Raja Hussein Abu Riya, Khader And Khalila, Khadija Juhayna, Muhammad Yusuf Taha and Rafat Zuhairi, leaving over one hundred injured by state security
forces, after simply calling for equality and recognition, and their right of return.
The Day of the land - or Land Day marked the first mass mobilization of
Palestinians within Israel against internal colonialism and land theft.
It also signalled the failure of Israel to
subjugate Palestinians who remained in their towns and villages, after
around 700,000 of them were either expelled or forced to flee battles or
massacres committed by Zionist armed groups in 1948.It's commemoration is a reaffirmation that the Palestinians who
remained in the area on which Israel was declared in 1948, are an
inseperable part of the Palestinian people and their struggle.
This important day in Palestinian history commemorates the Palestinians
sense of belonging to a people, to a
cause and a country, to stand united against racial oppression and rules
of apartheid,and the discriminatory practices of the Israeli
government, giving continual potency to the Palestinians cause , its
quest for justice and Palestinian rights, and its resistance to
injustice,who never cease to fight for their land while holding
passionately to their history and identity. It is the right of return,
recognised in the United Nations Resolution 194, that drives Palestinians to continue with the commemoration of Land Day - regardless of their geographical location.
The day is commemorated annually by Palestinians in the West Bank, the
Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and further afield in refugee camps and among
the Palestinian diaspora worldwide, with demonstrations, marches and by
planting olive and fruit trees. Land Day is typically
met with violent Israeli repression.
Land Day
continues to be poignantly relevant as Israel continues to
confiscate land, expand their
colonies, and continue to build their illegal settlements in flagrant
violation of all international conventions, particularly the Fourth
Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. There are currently more than 65 Israeli
laws that discriminate against Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel, and
Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The
recent approval of Israel’s Nation State Law came to cement this
apartheid and the second-class status of Palestinians.
But 2020, for the first year since 1976, Palestinians will not be
holding a Land Day commemorative march, due to the fear of further
spreading the coronavirus COVID-19 in the crowded Palestinian Occupied
Territories.
Every year, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and Palestinians in the
West Bank, Gaza and abroad, commemorate Land Day with marches and
remembrance. Land Day 2020 coincides with the two year anniversary of
the launch of the weekly Great March of Return demonstrations in Gaza.
Through these demonstrations, Palestinians have been demanding their
right to return to the land that is now known as Israel, as well as an
end to the 13 year blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt.
The Palestinian refugees in Gaza hoped through the weekly
non-violent protests to regain access to land, now in Israel, from which
their ancestors were forced to flee during the country’s creation in
1948. Instead, the protesters were shot with live ammunition, killing
hundreds and maiming tens of thousands. This went on weekly for nearly
two years, with no repercussions for the Israeli soldiers who repeatedly
shot non-violent Palestinian demonstrators.
According to Gaza medical officials, 215 Palestinians have been
killed by Israeli soldiers firing from the other side of the border
during the protests, with another 8,000 suffering gunshot wounds. In the
past few months, the weekly protests have been smaller.
In 2019 U.N. Human Rights Council investigators said Israeli forces
may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, with children
and paramedics among the fatalities.
The total area of historical Palestine is 27, 000 square kilometres,
85% of which is under Israeli military control. Therefore only 15% of
the ancestral land is available for indigenous Palestinians to cultivate
their land. The Palestinian people continue to risk violence and even death in their struggle for freedom, justice and equality.
The UK solidarity movement must do everything we can to amplify the
Palestinian people's call for an end to the siege of Gaza and the
implementation of the right of return, as enshrined in international
law.
So far, nine out of the 97 coronavirus cases confirmed in the Palestinian territories have been confirmed in the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s hospitals, which were overwhelmed during the protests by
gunshot wounds and amputations, are now gearing up for the challenge of
containing the coronavirus in the coastal enclave of two million
Palestinians, many living in refugee camps.
Amid the pandemic, people around the world are using social media to honour Land Day. With much of the world now in lockdown, for most Palestinian people
this experience is nothing new. Before the coronavirus outbreak spread
around the world, a UN report identified that “over two million Palestinians – around 40 per cent of the population” face:
"conflict and violence, displacement, and denial of access
to livelihoods, among other threats; entrenched levels of food
insecurity… [and] inadequate access to essential services for the most
vulnerable households "
The UN estimated
that around “three-quarters” of those people live in Gaza. Israel’s
blockade of this area and violence against its inhabitants has already
“devastated public infrastructure” and “disrupted and overwhelmed basic
services”. On 23 March, B’Tselem warned:
"The spread of COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip will be a
massive disaster, resulting entirely from the unique conditions created
by more than a decade of Israeli blockade: a failing healthcare system,
extreme poverty, dependence on humanitarian aid, dysfunctional
infrastructure and harsh living conditions that compromise public health
– even before exposure to the new virus – combine with overcrowding to
form a nightmare scenario. "
Coronavirus now affects us all. But in the midst of our personal chaos
and confusion, the challenges we face seem easy in comparison to those
facing people in Palestine. Not only has a US-based global tracker
removed an entire country, but the horrific situation people in the
occupied territories face trying to deal with the outbreak mean they
need our solidarity now more than ever.
This year, amidst the Covid-19
lockdown, for the first time ever Land Day will be solemnly commemorated inside
Palestinian homes. with gatherings everywhere in the world banned in order to combat the
spread of coronavirus, the Palestinians decided that the best way to
keep this memory alive is to raise the red, white, green and black
Palestinian flag on rooftops and balconies of every Palestinian home. Palestinians are sadly used to lockdowns and curfews, which is
perhaps why so many have taken it in their stride.
Meanwhile, the Israeli regime is continuing to remove Palestinians from their land
even exploiting the pandemic to do so. House demolitions in East
Jerusalem continue, settlement building hasn't halted and there is even
reported to be a spike in settler attacks on Palestinian properties in
the West Bank. On this important day in the Palestinian
struggle for liberation,their collective narrative - one that
emphasises Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonisation and sumud
(steadfastness), in solidarity I will continue
to join other people of conscience in supporting the global led Boycott,
Divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, intensifying our collective
efforts to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the
Palestinian people in violation of international law. In particular, I call
on the EU and member states to recognise a Palestinian state, with East
Jerusalem as its capital, and ban the importation of goods from illegal
settlements, as well as warn European companies operating there to
immediately cease their operations. Respecting today the Palestinians inside Israel, the
Israeli-Occupied Territories of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza, and
those in exile, who mark Land Day and view it as an assertion of the
Palestinians' right to return to their homeland. From the rivers to the sea one day Palestine will be free. For now the struggle continues.
Here's Why Palestinians in Gaza have been marching for two years.
To our Land - Mahmoud Darwish
To our land,
and it is the one near the word of god,
a ceiling of clouds
To our land,
and it is the one far from the adjectives of nouns,
the map of absence
To our land,
and it is the one tiny as a sesame seed,
a heavenly horizon ... and a hidden chasm
To our land
and it is the one poor as a grouses wings
holy books . . . and an identity wound
To our land,
and it is the one surrounded with torn hills,
the ambush of a new past
To our land, and it is a prize of war,
the freedom to die from longing and burning
and our land, in its bloodied night
is jewel that glimmers for the far upon the far
and illuminates whats outside it . . .
As for us , inside,
we suffocate more !
Remembering Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, journalist who died on this day in 1892, with his timeless advice on living a vibrant and rewarding life. It''s an excerpt from the preface of the 1855 edition to his verse collection Leaves of Grass.
We are currently living in unsettling times, so thought I'd share a beautiful quote , that contains a truth that remains undiminished since it was originally written..
" This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."
