On the Importance of the Palestinians Relating Their Own Narrative

I was really pleased to see that Ramzy Baroud has written an article on the importance of the Palestinians narrating their own narrative, its called Recasting the Rules: An Intellectual Intifada in the Offing

http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768356&utm_content=buffer7aac4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

While Baroud’s article speaks of the Narrative on the wider stage, in terms of intellectuals and academia I think it should also be read and understood by activists and supporters of Palestine on a more individual level as well.Because even amongst some of us there is a tendency to “marginalize and fundamentally misunderstand” the Palestinian narrative at times.

Reading Barouds article brought to mind a conversation I was in a couple of days ago, as well as myself there was an American and a Gazan who had seen a new type of plane flying over Gaza, which was thought to be an F35. Instead of calmly discussing the fact that Israel would nor have F35’s until 2016 the American “supporter” became verbally abusive towards the Gazan. The American was insistent that there was no way an F35 could of been over Gaza and that what had been seen was a drone, and he would not take into account the fact that the person he was speaking to hears the sounds of all Israel’s planes and drones on a daily basis,from the moment he wakes until he falls to sleep,so would be very aware when he heard and saw something different  in the sky.In Gaza your ability to survive can often depend on what you see and hear happening in the skies above your head.

The next days I read this piece of information “Tomorrow, October 18, 2015, will begin the bi-annual Blue Flag joint Air Force exercise involving the Israeli Air Force, United States Air Force and other allied nations……….”.The possibility that an F35 had flown over Gaza increased exponentially being that the USAF was possibly in the area.Perhaps the Israelis who are purchasing this machine, were given a demonstration on how it would perform over their own terrain?

If we activist/supporters of Palestine  fail “to appreciate the authenticity of the Palestinian narrative” at this level, what hope is there of it being understood in a wider arena? If we activist/supporters become abusive, accusative or attack those we profess to be supporting we are not better than the Zionists,who have been treating the Palestinians like this for far to long.

I am back

In 2013 I stopped writing post to this blog. Because as a non Palestinian I felt it was more important for the Palestinian voice to be heard rather than mine. So I went away and promoted the Palestinian voice in other spheres, but the events of the past few months leading to the crescendo of the past couple of weeks have brought me back again. Shocking events one would never expect to see from a country that nominally called itself a “democracy”.

So what was I doing in all that time? I travelled and lived in the Middle East for a while; I immersed myself in the life and culture of the ME. My heart broke standing on the Jordan shore of the Dead Sea as I looked into my beloved Palestine from a distance, he who must be obeyed, had already decided I would probably not get past the entrance way because I had said far too much over the years. So after blowing kisses and making a silent promise to return I had to turn away and walk away from my beloved Palestine.