The Rachel Corrie sails on...
TowardTheLight
I am in awe of the opportunities we have unfolding before us at this time to make the changes we need to create a self sustaining peaceful world...but first, we must clean out the closets.
I have started a blog and have posted this today. As it is timely I have decided to offer it in the email.
Cheers to making good decisions for ourselves and our childrens childrens children!
CJamil
ps. It's possible that some of you are not aware that Juliet Nightingale, my mum, passed away in February of 2009. It is with great respect that I have chosen to share this message with all of you. I know Juliet would have approved. Please let me know if you would prefer to not receive any more correspondence from me.
http://www.alchemyoflight.org/2010/06/the-rachel-corrie-perseveres-in-humanitarian-mission-to-bring-aid-to-the-palestinians/
The Rachel Corrie Perseveres in Humanitarian Mission to bring Aid to the Palestinians
On Monday, 31 May, the Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla that consisted of 9 ships carrying 10,000 tons of supplies and hundreds of humanitarians and activists heading for the Gaza strip with the intention to end the three year blockade of humanitarian aid that has been kept firmly in place by Israeli military stealth. One of the boats, the Rachel Corrie MV, was delayed due to engine trouble, and despite the violent massacre in the wee hours of the morning endured by their comrades, the crew has decided to finish the mission of bringing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza nonetheless. Perhaps it is a bit more than coincidence that this boat is named after the late Rachel Corrie, who herself was killed by an Israeli soldier who bulldozed her while she sat in the middle of the road defending Palestinian homes from being demolished in April, 2003. It should come as no surprise then, that the boat will face the threat that looms as the Israeli government has promised “more aggressive force in the future to prevent ships from breaking the sea blockade”. The ship is expected to arrive near the 8th of June. I will be watching closely and offering updates as I get them.
The current story of Israel is 60+ years of tyranny and bloodshed, which basically adds up to a slow genocide much like the fate that the indigenous people of the Americas themselves endured. We were taught in school that the holocaust killed millions of helpless Jewish people and they were then rewarded the land of Israel as a safe haven to lick their wounds. There was no mention of the Palestinian people who were barbarously removed from their homes and placed in the internment camps or worse.
Imagine that, here we are in 2010 and we are still discussing whether humanitarian aid should be allowed to a people whose travail has plagued the back of our minds since its inception.
I, in no way intend to trivialize the suffering of the Jews, the gays, the gypsies, the ardent defenders of humanity et al who were all victims of the Hitler regime. But when is enough, enough?
We are human beings after all. We are an intelligent, creative, and loving species that knows right from wrong. We have no doubt in our conscience that killing defies the most basic law of the Universe — to preserve and expand all life, not destroy it. How we got to this place in our history is a long long story and not where I’m going. Where I’m going is the mirror…
The world will be a better place when we, ourselves, become better people. We can do this. We have been lied to. We have been taught that the human is a naturally violent and ignorant species and left to assume that corporate greed and addiction to war are natural. But where is the humanity?
Our humanity is hanging in the balance caught in bondage with the Palestinians entrapped and enslaved by the violence of the Israeli military regime. Our humanity is in total empathy with them and every other living being on the face of the planet and beyond. Our humanity can be found in the depths of our hearts if we dare go there. It hurts to go there, but it doesn’t have to. If we go there together we can forgive ourselves and each other and we can learn new ways to communicate and solve our problems without violence. We have persevered through thousands of years of violence being sold to us by propagandists as the way to peace. I think we can say, with all due respect, that killing anybody or anything has not brought us peace; not peace inside of ourselves, nor peace in the world around us. It’s time to try another way.
The Rachel Corrie is making her journey across the sea to take a stand for humanity, for the humanity of all people who are participating in this ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, directly and indirectly. Our tax dollars are funding this war. Those war ships, helicopters, guns, and clubs that were used to attack the Freedom Flotilla were paid for by all of us. Our indifference is deafening.
I have concluded that Israel is an internationally supported military regime occupying Palestine. And I see that as the good news. It means that we can pull the plug anytime. Why not now?
DJamil Graham