The past few days have seen the unending horrors in Gaza and loss of Palestinian-Israeli children and civilian lives. I am writing this piece not to share my stand, or understanding, or feelings, but to ask questions to all of us witnessing this catastrophe unfolding every second. I don’t know any other way to reflect as a community. Whoever is reading this essay, has access to internet. Which means that you have access to information to what’s happening in Gaza.
To friends, acquaintances, readers: When we are going about our work, personal and professional stressors, relationships, can we stop for one minute and recognise our roles beyond the spaces that we have chosen to be part of? If we have chosen to be part of the globalised world, its challenges and realities are very much part of our social fabric. We place orders for jewellery and garments sustainably produced in India and be ready to pay for international shipping, we are investing in our mental health through therapy and fitness regimes to live healthier and longer lives, we are spending money on staying in touch with our friends and family across the globe, we are taking work calls at night because our colleagues sit in Pacific Time - we are very very well connected to the world. Then how can we disengage with one of the worst humanitarian crises unfolding in front of our eyes? How do we check in on our friends, colleagues, neighbours, who might be feeling particularly pained by this crisis?
“Attention is a form of prayer, Weil said. Don’t be complicit, don’t drop your gaze as hard as it is to look.” - Fatima Bhutto
For extended families and relatives: We have just emerged from over two months of Muharram’s observation. The majlis, the lamentations, the marsiyas and nohey, all in memory of Imam Hussain and his comrades, all in love of Zainab’s vigil and her courage in keeping the story of Karbala alive. Gazans are under seige. Their water, electricity, internet and fuel have been cut short. They have been given a 24-hour notice by the Israeli forces to evacuate to South Gaza. To someone whose water supply has been stopped and home is getting bombed, what is left is nothing but hopelessness. How can we ensure that such hopelessness is countered by solidarity, compassion and support? How can we fight misinformation that spreads like wildfire, especially in times of such crisis? What readings, conversations, prayers, meditations, fact-checking sources, donations and community-gatherings can we hold to deepen our understanding and extend solidarity to the Gazans?
‘Had it not been for the struggle of Zainab in the court of Yazid and the years afterwards, these people may have never had known of the revolution of Hussain. His message may have, as Yazid had intended, died with him in the desolate plains of Karbala. Zainab was the bridge between that sacrifice on the day of Ashura, and those who are inspired by Hussain till today.’ - WhoisHussain.org
To those I hold dear: How have you been? Have you been able to process your feelings around the unfolding crisis? Are you waiting that the next time we chat, catch up over brunch, we will discuss what happened in Palestine-Israel and what feelings and pain emerged? (Don’t wait). Are you hoping that this all will quieten down in a few days and life will go back to normal? (There’s no normal). I believe, we are all coping, in one way or the other. The harsh, painful truth I’m recognising is that the less we engage with this calamity, the more we are prone to dehumanisation. Our hearts and souls must break at how this crisis is unfolding and we need one another to hold us. I need you to hold me. I need us to be strong, informed and gentle enough to hold this pain together.
“..we need to understand that colonial violence instills dehumanization both in the oppressor and in the oppressed. And it’s completely out of mind.” - Tareq Baconi - Visiting Scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute, President of the board of the think tank Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network in an interview with The New Yorker
I don’t have answers. I am relying on everyone to hold space and each other with love and ease. Sharing some sources to follow, support and donate. Feel free to add more in comments.
For critical Gaza relief: Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
For updates, information and social media campaign on Palestinian cause: Subhi / Sbeih.jpg Instagram
For healing prayers for everyone affected: Nadia Irshaid Gilbert
Mariyam Haider is an independent writer-researcher, producer & host of Main Bhi Muslim podcast, and spoken word artist creating works on feminism, culture and society. Her writing has appeared in Scroll, Kontinentalist, Asian Review of Books, Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, AWARE, Livemint, Mekong Review, among others. You can follow Mariyam’s other work on Instagram or LinkedIn.
References:
On Attention: Simone Weil said ‘Attention is a form of prayer.’ (Fatima Bhutto, Substack, 13 Oct, 2023)
The critical role of Zainab, the sister of Hussain, after the Battle of Karbala (WhoisHussain.org, Oct, 2018)
Where the Palestinian Project Goes From Here? (The New Yorker, Oct 11, 2023)
The colonial mindset should have no place in the future. Everyone in the world was wilfully ignoring the existence of the colonised and displaced people, stopped asking the oppressor state to respect the promises they made to the compromise brokered by the world many years back. They expected the people to stay silent, bear the injustice and retreat to invisibility. This is the failure of each one of us, the institutions that we have ignored for our narrow local and mostly sectarian interests that others who also do the same, each of us retreating into ignorance. If we not speak out now, the struggle to make and treat all humans equal will be lost for a long time to come.