Why I can no longer call the UK my home

This is a difficult article for me to write. I have always regarded myself as an English patriot. Of course, I have always known my country isn’t perfect. No country is. However, I am finding it increasingly difficult to be anything but ashamed to call myself English. I no longer feel at home in my own country.

The UK was a place I called home despite living much of the year in my beloved Oman. My country has many attractions with its fascinating history and culture.

My English compatriots share my sense of humour and I can identify with them. I am very English. But now? Forget it. The UK government’s stance on Israel and Palestine is amoral because it supports genocide and the slaughter of innocent children. My government’s inhuman position has sickened me. And as if that weren’t bad enough, the BBC - once a symbol of journalistic integrity - seems determined to whitewash Israel’s brutal actions, pushing a narrative that perpetuates injustice and obscures the suffering of Palestinians.

I refuse to sugarcoat this: the UK government’s track record on Israel and Palestine is both disturbing and disgraceful. They have shown unwavering support for Israel even when the bombs are raining down on Gaza when entire families are obliterated and thousands of children - the vast majority are children and women - are being murdered.

The narrative of 'Israel’s right to defend itself' gets rolled out every time, but where’s the outcry for the defenceless Palestinians facing annihilation? The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza isn’t exaggerated, it’s a living nightmare. The Palestinian people are trapped, their homes reduced to rubble, their futures shattered and the UK government has done little more than offer hollow words whilst continuing to supply the weapons to Zionists which kill innocent Palestinians and now innocent Lebanese families. It is monstrous.

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid a hunger crisis in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. - Reuters

This is a serious moral crisis, a question of basic humanity. The UK’s stance gives a stamp of approval on mass murder and ethnic cleansing. I find it difficult to walk the streets of England, enjoy the beautiful countryside, and pretend everything’s okay when my government is complicit in this horror.

And then we have the BBC, a supposed beacon of truth. But when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, their reporting feels like a slick PR campaign for Israel.

Headlines that emphasise Israeli suffering while downplaying the slaughter of Palestinians. The language that paints systematic oppression as mere 'clashes.' The BBC’s coverage often leaves out key context, making it sound like both sides are equally matched. They’re not. Israel continues to be supported by the West with billions of dollars to buy arms.

For the BBC this is not just lazy journalism, it’s wilful deception. By sanitising the violence, by failing to fully and fairly give voice to the Palestinian plight, the BBC is complicit. The English media indoctrinates the public using Zionist propaganda. As a result, the majority are numb to Zionist atrocities. It’s a betrayal of the truth and a glaring violation of what journalism is supposed to stand for. Many BBC journalists with ethical standards have resigned in protest.

All of this makes visiting the UK a gut-wrenching moral dilemma. Visiting one’s homeland should be about connecting with one’s people, but right now the UK’s values - reflected in its foreign policy and media reporting - feel alien and hostile to my values. I can’t just sip tea and admire the countryside while ignoring the blood in the hands of those in power.

Choosing to stay away isn’t about making a bold political statement, it’s about staying true to what I believe in. It’s about standing in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians, about refusing to normalise my country’s support for the oppression and murder of an entire people. Until the UK government recognises the inhumanity of Zionists and the humanity of Palestinians and until the BBC starts reporting the truth, visiting Britain is difficult.

I’m holding onto a glimmer of hope that things might change, and that justice and compassion will eventually prevail. Only then might I consider revisiting my country, but until that day comes the UK has lost me.