Content Warning: Descriptions of Hind Rajab’s last phone call
Today marks exactly one year since the horrific murder of Hind Rajab, killed by the I.D.F. Have the excuses for this brutal genocide of the Palestinian people stopped? No. Oh sure, there’s a “ceasefire”, and many are now complaining that the protests against Israel’s actions are still proceeding, despite this “ceasefire”, as if these same people weren’t whinging about the protests for the last fifteen months.
Myself, and many others who work tens of thousands of times harder than me, have tried every possible way of trying to get through to people, to explain to them, plead with them, beg them to see that the killing of close to fifty thousand people (by a conservative estimate) has no place in a world that is claiming to be civilized.
Today, I’m going to try something else, I don’t know if it’ll work, if after fifteen months nothing has gotten through, I don’t know what will. But, I’d like to try something. What you are about to read, is the last words of Hind Rajab, the last phone call she ever made, interspersed with the excuses made for this genocide made over the last fifteen months, these will be in italics and in bold. I hope this will give some sort of view into how insane it is to defend the genocide of the Palestinian people, and if you defend it, you can no longer regard yourself as a civilized and humane person.
Hind Rajab: They are dead
Red Crescent Team: Operator Rana Faqih: Are they dead?
Hind: Yes
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is really complicated isn’t it?
Rana: And are they now with you in the car?
Hind: Yes.
Rana: Where are you hiding right now. Where are you currently seeking protection?
Hind: In the car
Rana: You are inside the car right? Not outside it?
Hind: Yes
While of course it’s really sad that the people of Gaza get hurt sometimes, we can’t be getting involved in politics.
Rana: You need to remain in the car, my dear, and I will continue being on the line with you, speaking to you and I will not hang up the phone. Alright?
Hind: Ok. The tank is now beside me.
Rana: Where is the tank?
Hind: Beside me.
Rana: The tank is beside you?
Hind: Yes
Yes, but what about all the other injustices?
Rana: Is it moved, or has is stopped? Has anyone gotten out of it?
Hind: Yes, it is moving
Rana: Is it moving? Is it moving beside the car, or it coming from behind the car, or from in front of the car?
Hind: From in front of the car.
Rana: The tank is coming towards you from in front of the car?
Hind: Yes.
Caring about Gaza is just a leftist trend by woke vegans!
Rana: Is it very close?
Hind: Yes, very, very close.
Rana: And is it moving?
Hind: Yes
Rana: Alright, we don’t want to be afraid
My God, why can’t people shut up about Gaza, it’s such a depressing topic!
Hind: Stay with me.
Rana: I am with you, my dear. I will stay will you until someone comes to take you. I will not leave you alone.
Hind: When someone comes, you can hang up the phone, okay?
Rana: What?
Hind: When someone comes, you can hang up the phone.
Rana: No, I will stay with you until I’m assured that it’s someone from the Red Crescent or someone to take you. I won’t hang up the line even if the army comes. God forbid, don’t hang up. Keep the line open, we don’t want to lose the connection.
Eh, I heard somewhere that Palestinians are homophobic or something, something about dropping people off a building?
Hind: Please come take me, please
Rana: What, my dear?
Hind: Stay with me, please.
Rana: My darling, my dear, I swear, I am with you. I will not leave you, I’m talking to you and I don’t want to leave you anyways.
We have to worry about Irish problems we can’t be worried about Gaza!
Hind: What time is it?
Rana: What?
Hind: What time is it? It’s almost night.
Rana: What?
Hind: The night is approaching, I am scared. Please come take me.
Do you condemn Hamas?
Rana: My darling, if it were in my power, I would come to you. Shall we pray to God?
Hind: Ya Allah.
The children will just grow up to be terrorists anyway!
Rana: God, please protect us
Hind: God please protect us.
That’s the text of the entire recording. And here is the recording if you wish to listen:
I haven’t cried much during this absolutely insane mass slaughter of my fellow human beings, and I believe this is because I fear that if I cry the tears will never stop. But I cried listening to this. I wondered several times should I stop and give myself a break, maybe work on this over several days, because hearing this is so hard, for anyone with even a fraction of a conscience. But I was determined that this post would be up today, to mark one year since the horrific killing of Hind Rajab.
I don’t know what else to do say. I mean, I’m sitting here not sure what else to even type. We should live in a world, where if Hind Rajab was the only person that Israel killed, people would be out marching in the street demanding justice. But instead we live in a world where 50,000 dead doesn’t even achieve that. Sure, Ireland is good in comparison to other countries for pro-Palestine views, but, a lot of Irish people don’t care. I’m terrified by how many Irish people don’t care. And this is in a country FAMOUS for being a friend of Palestine.
Part of what keeps me going, part of the reason I don’t give up, is because, over the last year I came to the conclusion that it is better to do the right thing when there is little or no chance of success, than to do the wrong thing when there is every chance of success. And, a very important thing to remember also is that, think of the other injustices of the past. They must have seemed like they would go on forever, the current state of things always seems that way. South African Apartheid must have seemed like it would never end. Segregation in the United States must have seemed like it would go on forever. And I bet if you were around in 1960’s America it must have seemed like the Vietnam war would be still going on many decades into the future.
But, people said no, we cannot accept this injustice, and they didn’t just say it when things seemed hopeful, they said it when things seemed hopeless. And that’s how they won.
So, for Hind Rajab, and for every other Palestinian who has been murdered, tortured, imprisoned, left traumatized and had their entire family killed, please do not give up, not because it seems hopeful now, because it really doesn’t, but because the only way the horrific apartheid and genocide of the people of Palestine will ever end is if we don’t stop, never stop, even when it looks like there isn’t even a faint chance of winning.
DON’T GIVE UP!
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