As the world watches Gaza being engulfed in flames, consuming houses, and lives and blaming October 7 for triggering the ongoing “war”, it is essential to keep in mind that what is happening in Palestine did not begin on October 7, 2023.
Balfour Declaration
Everyone knows that when visiting a website, there’s much more behind the scenes than we realise. This concept of a tedious, complicated, and extensive framework process is similar to what has happened in Palestine, but on a much larger scale. The strategy to create a national homeland for Jews on the Palestinian land was, surprisingly, proposed in 1917, and not very surprising, by the British who can’t get enough of what’s not their land. Although one might argue that this time it wasn’t for their own benefit, we should also remember that there was no benefit for the Palestinians in this either.
In 1917, only 8% of the population of Palestine were Jewish. For the better part of 1920s and 30s, British facilitated Jewish immigration to Palestine.
When Britain decided to leave in May 1948, the Zionist paramilitary army was ready with a plan to colonise all of historic Palestine. More than 70,000 Palestinians were kicked out of their homes. Hundreds of villages were razed to the ground. They’ve managed to take not only their land but also countless innocent lives.
Gaza Strip(2023 and 2024)
October 7 does not justify the killing of kids and women in Gaza, starvation in Gaza, and defying of International law. Israel killed thirty-one times as many people killed since October 7 than on October 7.
How can they justify the murder of more than 43,000 people, leaving Gaza in ruins, and leaving thousands of children orphans in only a year?
With this in mind, is it fair to call this a war? When there is a clear powerful and dominant racial group oppressinganother unarmed, racial group. Aren’t the scales heavily weighted on one side? In no way is this “war” proportionate, with Israel receiving arms from the US. In no way is it commensurate, with Israel depriving Gazans of food, clean water, medicine, and education.
We’ve heard the phrase “History repeats itself”, but as much as we hear it, do we learn from it? One might have hoped that the world would have gained some wisdom from the Srebrenica massacre, the Rohingya genocide, or even the Holocaust, not to let one powerful group discriminate against another because of their ethnicity and race.
The quote “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths are a statistic,” often attributed to Joseph Stalin, is a chilling reflection on the dehumanisation that can accompany largescale violence and loss of life, especially in the context of war or genocide. While its exact origins are debated, the reason behind it emphasises how people can become abstractions when faced with immense human suffering, their pain and loss reduced to mere numbers.
Stalin’s words, if interpreted through the lens of military, highlight how different groups of people are valued differently. The quote could be seen as a critique of how, politically and socially, the death of an individual from a more “privileged” group – such as an American – might be considered a personal tragedy, while the deaths of many people from less powerful groups – such as Palestinians, for example – are dismissed or overlooked. This reflects a pattern where lives are valued according to political, cultural, or national importance.
These individuals are more than just statistics, and we do not have the right to dehumanise them. Behind every loss of life is a lifestyle, a grieving family and a story left unfinished. It is not possible to remember every single Palestinian life lost to Israel’s extreme occupation, but the least we can do is not let them become statistics, because, like us humans, they’re humans too. They are more alive than we could ever be because they have shown us the true value of life. The miscreants labelled them as “human animals” when they’re the ones who carry out the most inhumane acts.
ShabanAl Dalou
Out of the millions who have endured unimaginable suffering and horrors during this genocide, one of the most chilling narrative that I have come across, is that of 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou, engulfed by flames.
Shaban was a student studying software engineering and like almost every student in this world, had potential, dreams, and a future stolen by what we continue to call a “war”. He and his family of six were displaced five times. Imagine having to fit 19 years of your life into a backpack, with no certainty of the future you planned. Shaban al Dalou was burned alive, while still attached to an IV drip for an injury from a previous attack. His mother and his 10-year- old brother, Abdul Ruhman were also killed in the same fire.
Faris Odeh
Faris Odeh was a Palestinian boy from the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip who became known as a popular symbol for Palestinian resistance because of a photograph where he is seen throwing a stone at an Israeli tank on October 29, 2000. Born and raised in Gaza, Odeh was known for confronting Israeli tank during the Second Intifada [2000- 2005]. Odeh’s desire to confront the occupation was unshakeable. On November 8, 2000, Odeh was with other young Palestinians, throwing stones at Israeli tanks. While crouching to pick up a stone, he was shot in the neck by Israeli forces. He was only 14 years old at the time. Faris Odeh is just one of 20,000 children killed by Israel since2000. Take another look at that number – quite large isn’t it?
I am in no position to compare the two narratives; however, what seems evident in both cases is that while one occurred much earlier, it does not reduce the brutality of the Israeli occupation. Nor does this earlier narrative lessen the hardships that Palestinians have had to face. It never began on October 7. It’s not that we fail to see, but how we fail to feel even after we see.
These people have had to pay the price for their land, through blood, tears, and countless losses. These people are resilient, not only regarding their faith but also their land.
And yet the world fails to acknowledge their suffering. Imagine being a child and losing a parent, or both. Imagine losing a brother, a sister, a friend, a colleague. In other words, imagine yourselves in their situation, as this creates empathy. A lack of empathy, on the other hand, leads to apathy. And apathy towards Palestinians is precisely what Zionists desire.
However, there is always good, even in the worst of situations. As humans, we tend to hold on to hope even in the most desperate of times. The ruthless killing of innocentlives has forced the world to open its eyes. While the pandemic had created divisions among people, the unity among Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, has reminded everyone that, at the end of the day, we share a common identity; being human. They have taught us how to live, to hold onto hope, and most importantly, to be patient.
We must always remember to speak up for Palestinians when they cannot. We must be their voice through our posts and words, and we must even boycott the occupier.
Perhaps something may have begun on October 7th: a genocide after 76 years of occupation.