“No matter how many tweets or livestreams you see, the reality on the ground is so much more terrible than it is on social media … We don’t deserve this. We’re not animals like the Israelis think. Our kids deserve better … If I must die, let it be a tale.” – Refaat Alareer, Palestinian poet murdered along with his family by Israel in Gaza.
On Sunday, the Palestinian arrived late for the campaign launch for Remah Naji in the seat of Moreton. When I asked where he had come from, he replied firmly: “From Gaza.” Just those two words said a lot. It was the way this strong looking man of about 50 years pronounced the Arabic word Gaza meaning weaving as in gauze. But it was more than that, he was, in a measured way, defiant in his response to my question. In the present tense, he then repeated the words: “I come from Gaza” and went on “this place (Yeronga Memorial Gardens) was hard to find“. The parkland, with Honour Avenue down the centre, was constructed at the end of the first world war, in 1917, to commemorate the battle of Beersheba in Palestine 🇵🇸 .
The Palestinian had his family with him. I asked where he was staying and he replied “Kuraby” which is at the south-eastern end of the federal electorate of Moreton. As we arrived near the old fig trees providing shade he was approached by a few of the 200 people in attendance. Someone mentioned that they were expecting him and his family.
I don’t know what the man from Palestine thought, but he had entered a hostile country. Australia is a refuge from genocide for a few. But both government and media are pro-Israel or more correctly pro-US.
Only the night before the Brisbane Festival put on a river fire event using Boeing fighter bombers like the ones that have decimated the Palestinian population of Gaza in the past 10 months. Governments have licensed these weapons of mass destruction to export parts to Israel to assist in the dropping of huge bombs that have destroyed schools, hospitals, and residential areas. Nearby, in Tingalpa, Ferra Engineering constructs bomber parts that are used by Israeli F-35 planes to demolish Gaza and to murder its people.
The Big Ride for Palestine (Australia)
I am keen cyclist and each year I ride for Palestine. Most ordinary people are either neutral or positive when they see our jerseys and our Palestinian flags; occasionally riders get an outright negative response. However you will not see Palestinian flags displayed at national sporting events . Yet every evening on SBS TV, watching Vuelta a España, the tour of Spain, you can see Palestinian flags dotted along the route, in the mountains, in the valleys, and at the finish line. In Asturias, in the Basque country, in Catalonia, even in Madrid. Even though they look almost like part of the scenery, the Aussie commentators make no reference to the Palestinian flags. SBS commentators are happy to talk about castles, relics of the civil war in Spain, and churches; but nothing about the Palestinian genocide that cause the flags to be displayed by people along the route. I wonder if they are told to ignore the flags, I wonder if they even need to be told. Regardless, they are silent.
Remah Naji, whose family is from Jaffa in Palestine, spoke of the importance of grassroots activism in her political campaign, promising to support and work closely with grassroots movements rather than allowing the campaign to distract from activism. Remah highlighted the role of grassroots activists in standing against government betrayals, such as the demonization of refugees and the undermining of workers’ rights. She stressed the need to connect with marginalized communities, suffering of communities like the Rohingya, Bangladeshi, West Papuans, Sudanese, and others who face genocide and brutal regimes. This Palestinian woman promised to amplify their voices, and address their unique concerns, such as the stigma faced by their communities and the suffering of those affected by genocide. Anti-arab, anti-muslim hate campaigns are on the rise often supported by mainstream institutions. Remah advocates for meaningful conversations about systemic change and asserts a commitment to fighting for a better quality of life for all, both locally and globally, emphasizing the interconnectedness of democracy and the importance of grassroots activism as a means and an end. Remah ended with a call to action, encouraging the audience to join the fight for systemic change.
Sweet Hope
Phil Monsour of Lebanese-Australian heritage, spoke of the ongoing struggle in Gaza and the broader fight for justice, including climate and refugee issues. Phil called for collective effort to achieve a significant victory, recalling over fifty (50) rallies organised since 7 Ocorber 2023 to gain political support for Palestine. Phil remembered a rally in 2006 when Israel was bombing Lebanon and how hard it was to gain support with a crowd less than the size of the campaign launch. Phil emphasized the importance of having politicians from parliaments standing beside them, which was not the case in 2006. He thanked the Green Party for supporting Palestinian candidates. He expressed pride in seeing Palestinian women leading rallies and the potential for Remah to become the first Palestinian-Australian elected to parliament in the country.
Phil then stepped down from the podium to perform Sweet Hope and later Which Side are you on?
Electoralism
The need for international solidarity with Palestine is great. I remember a similar need when the Chilean dictatorship was murdering workers in stadiums in Santiago. I remember what led up to it, interference from the CIA and big corporations resulting in the murder of the elected president Salvador Allende in 1973. In 1978, the left attempted to get a Chilean trade unionist on the platform at the annual May Day rally in the Exhibition grounds. To no avail. Similiar attempts for international solidarity with Palestine were made this May Day in Brisbane. The trade union hierarchy called in police. Now, the movement is trying to get a Palestinian elected to parliament. The response by a conservative Labor government is bound to harsh. They manage both capitalism and democracy. The LNP will have no truck with the Left, and will help introduce even more repressive laws like outlawing the CFMEU. The media has already begun attacking the Green Party for supporting Palestine and the CFMEU.
The Greens hope to introduce three super profit taxes – on banks, miners, and other large corporations. They wish to extract 514 billion from major corporations and spend it on Medicare and public housing. These policies are unlikely to get support inside the Parliament and may not even get much support outside.
Rollo, a former Chilean union organizer spoke supporting Remah’s campaign. Rollo highlighted Remah’s activism against the genocide in Palestine, noting the genocide has lasted (nearly) 12 months. He criticized the Australian government’s silence on Palestine compared to their swift condemnation of Russia when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Rollo spoke of Remah’s support of the Latin American community in Brisbane on International Women’s Day and her tireless efforts in organizing and advocating for justice.
Palestine exception
Binil, a Muslim community voice, praised Remah’s unwavering support and condemned the hypocrisy of Labor and Liberal politicians for their silence on Palestine. He emphasized the moral obligation to challenge genocide and called for a shift in political power through voting, asserting that unity and resilience are key to achieving justice. Binil criticized Labor politicians for betraying the Muslim community and using the phrase “Israel has the right to defend itself.” He described the “Palestine exception” as a racist and genocidal underpinning of both Labor and Liberal policies. He accused both parties of using tokenistic multiculturalism and ‘social cohesion’ to maintain power.
Afterwards a poet stepped up to the podium to say:
This land was stolen, and it always was and always will be Aboriginal land
Assimilated prim and proper, polished and perfect too
This is what you have to live up to
Now, our flaws are not beautiful or something to be proud of
They’re laughable, or at least that’s what society tells us
Tread lightly upon eggshells.
They already cut up your feet all bloody and raw, but that’s what our ancestors did, assimilate to the cause sell yourself in the product of the capitalist machine, until everything you do has a barcode on it.
Scan, scan, scan, your attributes into perfectly neat packaging.
We do away with the parts of you that are foreign and imperfect.
We bring out your creativity and flush out your pre-thinking.
We, the majority, know what’s best for you the minority, your body is a vessel, a tool for the colonies project, and your mind is an extension of that you are no longer you.
Ian Curr
2 September 2024
One thing I think about sometimes is the absolute certainty that undiagnosed psychopaths and sociopaths enlist to serve in conflict zones for the purpose of acting out their sadistic fantasies. I’m sure most of the abuses we see in places like Gaza have mundane systemic explanations like the fact that Zionists are indoctrinated from birth to see Palestinians as less than human, but I’m also sure there are people who’ve volunteered to participate in this genocide because they just want to inflict pain and death on other human beings.
I’m sure this is happening in Gaza, and I’m sure this happens in all instances of mass military violence. A war zone is a collapse in law and order where might makes right and whoever has the guns makes the rules. People who normally wouldn’t risk imprisonment for acting out their fantasies of torture and murder have the opportunity during wartime to become one of the people with the guns who make the rules. They have a helpless population at their fingertips to whom they can do anything they like.
War is the worst thing in the world. It’s the most insane thing humans do. So, so much of the trauma and dysfunction of our species are the lingering reverberations from wars that may have ended decades ago, passed down from generation to generation by soldiers returning home and by civilians who’ve been subjected to unfathomable abuse by those who found themselves free to do anything they want to them.