I have found myself increasingly depressed by the constant appearance of lifestyle choices and holiday adverts in the press and social media at the moment when that same press and social media seem to willingly ignore the plight of those in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and now Pakistan. Similarly, though admittedly less of a matter of life and death for now, the fatuous ‘promises’ of Farage and his ilk over the last week encourage xenophobia and present such an insular and untrue image of the society I live in that I consider their rantings dangerous for my mental health and if they gain any more mainstream traction I fear their policies will threaten to divide this country in ways that will make the Brexit divisions appear small.
There is no simple solution to the above other than to fight what battles you can, be it on the hustings, in everyday conversations or by protesting against the wall of silence that seems to surround certain subjects, particularly Gaza. It is not racist to call out genocide, it is stating a fact. I was at the Menin Gate this week staring up at the names of all the soldiers of the British Empire who died between 1914-18 with no known grave – over 70,000 of them, but they ran out of room, so the back wall of Tynecot cemetery (the largest Commonwealth War cemetery in the world) contains the names of those they couldn’t fit on the gate and they number approx. 35,000 UK and NZ dead with no known grave.
Currently, the total number of Palestinian dead stands somewhere around 54,000. That’s 54,000 people like you and me with hopes, dreams, loves and lovers – all gone. It is an obscenity. The idea that today, now, the world has allowed a national govt. To try to eradicate a people from the face of the earth, in full view of us all, should shame us all. Please do what you can.
I promise no ranting next week.
It seems that as the world goes to shit, artists make their best music, as this last week has seen some brilliant releases from Whitney K and Cory Hanson, both highly recommended, and the radio show also features the likes of Ella Spencer, Wilder Woods, Ben Joseph, Jack Browning Kevin Morby and more. As ever…
Very well said Keith
Well said👏👏👏
Let’s keep on saying it too. The media always when referring to the Hamas attacks, describe it as the “slaughter” of Israelis, but when talking of the deaths of Palestinians they are stated as “killed”. Which is the most emotive term? What is happening now in Gaza is an atrocity of which our government(s) is a part.