The current genocide in Gaza teaches the whole world about resilience as we see people digging out their loved ones from under the rubble with their bare hands and fighting for their lives trying to survive while the politicians around the world fail to reach a ceasefire.
A friend was asking what keeps the people in Gaza so strong.
Many factors contribute to emotional strength against adversity and in the case of people in Gaza faith would be at the top of the list.
Believing in god and surrendering to his power allows people to seek meaning in what they witness. When Hamas took hostages back on October 7 many people saw that as an act of madness and a poorly calculated move yet we soon realised it was not up to us to make that judgment but for the people of Gaza who witnessed apartheid daily.
The second factor is the support of others even when the US blocked the ceasefire vote at the UN, individuals around the world continued to show their support, through peaceful protests which the police in several cities originally banned, probably for the first time in history.
Such bans give people more reason to protest for their freedom to express their political opinions and show empathy for people in Gaza and the whole of Palestine.
No one can argue that social media platforms played a major role in educating people about what is taking place in Gaza and in showing the truth that official media that support the Israeli propaganda tried to hide.
I used to view the social media platform TikTok as a place for teenagers to dance and exchange silly and sometimes dangerous challenges yet it proved to be one of the popular platforms since it is not subjected to censorship by the United States.
Viewers using TikTok were able to see footage of the actual military attack and listen to people in Gaza challenging the lies about the presence of Hamas forces in Al Shifa hospital.
International public support was also demonstrated by boycotting companies that announced their support for Israel and fed their soldiers with burgers and fries wrapped in an Israeli flag. Something we only used to see during football matches where companies advertise their products during the game but not during the war that kills innocent civilians. Therefore, people who boycotted such companies are standing for their values against capitalism.
Many people started discovering new meaning in their lives after learning the truth about what has been happening in Gaza and the whole of Palestine for years. Myself included, we learned to value the small things in life such as living and a free country and being able to express one’s faith without threats, being able to return home to a loving family, and experiencing the warmth of connecting with friends around the world. Such things are not available to people in Palestine.
Finally, as the current war brings us together as human beings, let us revisit our values away from capitalistic propaganda and think about our brothers and sisters around the world who are experiencing political conflicts, and let us pray for a better world.
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