Here is a poem by Michael Rosen in response to Trump’s proposal to “clean out” the Gaza Strip.
Trump talked of
a million and a half people.
and he wondered aloud
what if
‘we just clean out that whole thing?’
He wondered aloud
what if we say
‘you know, it’s over.’?
What do you say
you people we vote for,
you who shroud your soft bodies in suits
and sit
enclosed in the safety of offices
in the towers of glass and steel
you who sit on TV panels
shaking your cheeks with horror
at outrages round the globe
what do you say
to the man who talks of
cleaning out people
like the people are unclean
what do you say to the man
who talks of people as
‘that whole thing’
like the people are a thing.
What do you say
to the President
who talks of the people of Gaza
as if they are an unclean thing?
What do you say to us?
And here’s a photo of displaced Palestinians trying to return to Gaza.
I read that some of them came under fire from Israeli forces who were angry because there was one person who was not included in the released hostages. One Palestinian was killed. That missing Israeli will be included in the hostages released on Friday..
Many of the Palestinians returning to Gaza don’t have a home as such to return to but have memories to return to and may be able to locate the bodies of family members lost under the rubble that remains.
Here is a link to a piece written by Nesrine Malik, with the headline “Goodbye to the children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it.”
And here are a couple of extracts:
“UN analysis of verified deaths during a five-month period confirmed that of those who died, 44% were children. Most often, those children were five- to nine-year-olds; 80% of them killed in their own homes.”
“Even if the ceasefire does herald the end of the war, there is no doubt Gaza’s youngest generation will limp forward into a dark future if the world cannot locate its empathy and an epic marshalling of crucial aid and support is not extended.
In a plea to the security council last week, the United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs made that case for the maimed, orphaned, displaced and traumatised.
“The children of Gaza are not collateral damage,” Tom Fletcher said. “They are as deserving as children everywhere of security, education and hope. They tell us that the world was not there for them throughout this war. We must be there for them now.” “
“Goodbye to the children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it.”
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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