Dina Abedrabo
Abu Shtayyah, ‘Tomorrow Palestine Will be Free’ / Pinterest
Friends,
I write to you as a 15 year old young Palestinian girl who is using her voice to speak for those who can’t– those living in sadistic, inhumane conditions, those who simply need attention, compassion and sympathy from you. I am writing this open letter on behalf of the youth, the children and the people of Palestine.
I am deeply concerned about the state of the world and how people have lost empathy and solidarity with humanity and with the Palestinians. Israel was agreed upon on the 2nd of November 1917 between Arthur James Balfour and Walter Rothschild. Arthur James Balfour, the UK’s Foreign Secretary at the time, promised Walter Rothschild, the leader of the British Jewish community, the land of Palestine. However the establishment of the state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948; this day was then marked as the nakbe which means catastrophe in arabic and indeed it was. Palestinian houses were ambushed by armed soldiers, they were forced to leave the only place they knew, the only place they called home, they then became refugees and migrated to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and other cities in Palestine. Since the systematic oppression began, Palestinians saw their human rights violated, they were institutionally discriminated against and were denied any right of existence; they were incarcerated without reason and harassed continually without cause.
As Edward Said once said “their (Palestinians) existence was paradoxically denied”. Palestine has been de-legitimised and its right to statehood and self-determination was and is argued about constantly around the world; we Palestinians stand here fighting for the moral and ethical rights that any human should be allowed to have.
As a young girl who has seen the occupation first hand over the summers has not been easy, hearing stories from 4-year-olds and 11-year-olds has probably been the most challenging thing; hearing them speak about the conditions of their daily life will forever be surprising to me. Trying to understand how those children survive days and weeks with the water supply cut off from the IDF, and how they have been arrested casually on the way to school or how almost every child has witnessed an extra-juridical murder by the IDF.
Children’s minds around the world have been shaped by TV shows and movies; the same children who lack knowledge about the Israeli apartheid, the ideology, maltreatment and enslavement of Palestinians, those children who we all have faith in to change the world and stop radicalisation, inequality, discrimination, racial and ethnic segregation not only from within Palestine but around the world.
Some argue that Palestinians are not subjected to the same laws as those for Israelis, for example, Palestinians are denied the freedom of speech and they are restricted from the freedom of movement around and in Palestine.
During operation Protective Edge in the year 2014, over 500 children were killed and Israel stated that they were only targeting Hamas soldiers. Over 1,500 civilians were murdered and the ceasefire was broken many times. Many believe that Israel fights in the name of Judaism but that is a false and misleading statement since Israel bases its actions on the specifications and beliefs of Zionism.
Self-aggrandization projections have been consistently magnified on the Palestinians not only from within the society of Israel but by its allies who state that they are neutral of both sides; as Desmond Tutu once said, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor”. I simply ask you to stop the deprivation of human rights that must be provided to those Palestinian children, children just like me and you .
I ask you not as a Palestinian but as a human with morals and dignity, I ask you to help create the social change needed to unify with those Palestinians, we must come together in order in solidarity with Palestine, we must unite in order to defeat the radicalisation and racism of Israel, we must fight for the right of return and the great holy land we will forever call Palestine.
From a young girl who believes in humanity.
Dina is a 15-year-old Palestinian, originally from Jerusalem; her family was annexed in 1948. She lives in the West Bank and hopes to be a nurse when she grows up.
