PALESTINE IN OUR VOICE

 فلسطين بصوتنا فلسطين بصوتنا

by Ana Wijnen

Breda, 3,287 km from Gaza, with approximately 189,000 inhabitants, is a small city in a small country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in Europe. A continent that, in relative terms, is not particularly large, yet has an extremely low poverty rate. A continent that has not experienced significant wars since World War II, allowing later generations to enjoy stability without knowing firsthand the horrors that war can bring.

Because of this, and due to an education system along with globalist policies that have fostered collective amnesia through the individualism of its societies, people here live in peace, with no greater worries than those of their daily lives.

That is why, in this part of the world, it's difficult to imagine a reality like the one Palestine has endured since the end of World War II. A reality that is no coincidence and, at the same time, deeply ironic—because it seems that the “conflict” of that time never truly ended, it was simply moved to another continent. It is similar to what happens today with consumerist waste—these countries dispose of it in other nations, as if they were Europe’s dumping grounds. But that is just one of many unresolved issues.

The greatest irony of all is that those who were victims during World War II are now the oppressors. And this, too, is no coincidence. A series of political and economic interests in the West turned into a monstrous project of extermination, disguised as guilt, portraying as heroes those who today persecute, dispossess, torture, and kill.

For the average person, it is hard to understand that their peace, freedom, and stability come at the cost of the lives of other human beings in a distant land. It is difficult for parents here to comprehend that, over there, many will never see their children grow up because they are no longer alive. It is difficult for young people here to realize that, over there, bombs have left countless other young people and children orphaned and defenseless. It is hard to accept that, in the last two years, attacks on the Palestinian population have resulted in around 50,000 confirmed deaths, along with thousands of missing persons. That would be roughly equivalent to a third of the total population of this small city. And that does not even account for unregistered victims, the inhumane conditions of the survivors, or the decades of dispossession and their countless consequences.

In this context, I know that many forces stand against the Palestinian people and that, from this small city, there is little that can be done. But at the very least, there is the possibility of making a call. A call to those who are aware, to those beginning to wake up, to those who do not yet fully see the reality but are starting to question it. A call to those who refuse to continue being manipulated—and thus complicit in this genocide. A call to those with the duty to inform, so that they stop labeling it as a "Middle Eastern conflict" and instead denounce the extermination being carried out with taxpayer money and unconscious consumerism. Because many do not realize that, by purchasing products from brands like Coca-Cola—a company that, despite denying it, maintains close ties with Israel, operates factories in occupied territories, and contributes to the funds Washington allocates for Israel’s war machinery—they are unknowingly supporting this violence.

This is a call for an unprecedented mass mobilization, directed at the entities responsible for making key decisions: political parties, International Courts, Parliaments, Embassies, and public institutions. A call to take to the streets, raise Palestinian flags, exert pressure, denounce, and abandon resilience. Because we have already been patient and obedient, and nothing has been achieved.

Finally, this is a call to all the citizens of the world to mobilize. Because they are silencing the voice of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and there is no time to lose. It is time to be the voice that transforms into a resounding shout. A call for all of us to be, today and always, Palestine.

move boycot!