Less than a month ago I messaged my sister to ask if she was OK after learning that she was in Ramallah for work.
Today, in that terrifying party or the world (thanks, WhatsApp), this:
And these images of Palestinians going about prayers during Ramadan next to the rubble of a destroyed mosque:
(There’s a complicated story here about the triumph of religion over adversity – or a mortal combat between Resilience and Duty? – and the fact that Al Jazeera brings it alive enough, and often enough, for me to almost respect and envy the obviousness* of blind faith. Plus, my choice to watch that channel. It’s too complicated for people who aren’t moral philosophers boffins because the other ones seem to think they’re in the same combat.**
*The inevitability, perhaps, as in the Tragedy of the Commons? Later Hardin commentary here.
**The “other ones” are obviously Bibi and those who pull his triggers, not the whole country, faith, or collection of academic institutions.)
Meanwhile, some dodgy plan to sail food aid to Gaza from Cyprus after Israeli border closings have stopped trucks from entering (well, some were allowed in at the end of February, but people were already mad enough from starvation to behave like angry ants, which Israel took care of by behaving like angry ant killers, and later, airdrops killed 5 people when the stupid parachutes didn’t guarantee a soft landing of the food that was meant to save them) which may or may not be managed by mercenaries or World Central Kitchen, if they ever figure out where to dock:
And even meanerwhile, this:
So, the US accidentally kills people with food parcels it helped to create the need for, and Denmark sends people like my sister to Ramallah where she could hear the sound of guns that government probably supplied.
Ramallah, February 2024
It’s a lot. Take a moment.
And because stories about bad behaviour just go down so much easier with a good riddim:
Wait, did someone say riddim?