In case you do not already know this, Alice Walker is participating in the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. She is sailing along with other Americans of conscience on the "Audacity of Hope." The boat is carrying nothing but letters and messages of support and solidarity to the people of Gaza whom have been facing a long-term blockade by the Israeli government and military. One wonders if messages of love and solidarity are deemed enough of a danger that the Israeli military and government will interfere; but we can only hope not and that the Gaza Freedom Flotilla will be allowed to complete its journey.
Crossposted at "The Wild Wild Left" http://wildwildleft.com/...
Today a piece appeared in the Guardian from Alice Walker explaining why she has chosen to do this even when the American government is calling on American citizens not to participate. Her comment is so thoughtful and beautiful that I am reluctant to simply quote from it, but I will do so; here is the link so you can read it in full, it brought tears to my eyes (http://www.guardian.co.uk/...).
Explaining why she is participating in the flotilla, Alice Walker speaks of historical movements against oppression and colonialism. She links the question to the struggle for human and civil rights in the Black community in the US and the support of Jewish civil right activists and the anti-colonialist struggle in India against the British:
There is a scene in the movie Gandhi that is very moving to me: it is when the unarmed Indian protesters line up to confront the armed forces of the British Empire. The soldiers beat them unmercifully, but the Indians, their broken and dead lifted tenderly out of the fray, keep coming.
Alongside this image of brave followers of Gandhi there is, for me, an awareness of paying off a debt to the Jewish civil rights activists who faced death to come to the side of black people in the American south in our time of need. I am especially indebted to Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who heard our calls for help – our government then as now glacially slow in providing protection to non-violent protesters – and came to stand with us.
They got as far as the truncheons and bullets of a few "good ol' boys'" of Neshoba County, Mississippi and were beaten and shot to death along with James Chaney, a young black man of formidable courage who died with them. So, even though our boat will be called The Audacity of Hope, it will fly the Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner flag in my own heart.
Alice Walker's comment displays her anger at the US executive for not mentioning the children of Palestine and legislative branches for their standing ovation for Prime Minister Netanyahu when he visited Washington:
And what of the children of Palestine, who were ignored in our president's latest speech on Israel and Palestine, and whose impoverished, terrorised, segregated existence was mocked by the standing ovations recently given in the US Congress to the prime minister of Israel?
I see children, all children, as humanity's most precious resource, because it will be to them that the care of the planet will always be left. One child must never be set above another, even in casual conversation, not to mention in speeches that circle the globe.
As adults, we must affirm, constantly, that the Arab child, the Muslim child, the Palestinian child, the African child, the Jewish child, the Christian child, the American child, the Chinese child, the Israeli child, the Native American child, etc, is equal to all others on the planet. We must do everything in our power to cease the behaviour that makes children everywhere feel afraid.
I wrote this to thank Alice Walker for her participation and to share her beautiful comment explaining why she is participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. She is one of our national treasures, I cannot tell you how proud I am of her and of those participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla from wherever they hail.
I would also like to call on the US government to ensure the safety of all participants that are sailing in the Flotilla and to fight to bring an end to this blockade against the people of Gaza. They have the power to force the Israeli government and military to uphold human rights; quite honestly there are few others that the Israeli government and military will actually listen to, so perhaps they can stand up for human rights and international humanitarian law instead of giving lip-service to those important concepts and only applying them on perceived or so-called enemies. Here is a link for a petition calling for Secretary of State Clinton to protect Americans that are participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla:
http://bit.ly/...
I honestly wish that it was calling for the protection of all those participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla as I do not see why only Americans should be our concern. But please do sign it, perhaps a measure of protection could be provided to others if the US government and secretary of state will stand up for Americans of conscience. h/t to flyswatterbanjo: fellow kossack Robert Naiman is also on the "Audacity of Hope," please hold all these people that are participating in your thoughts and hearts for their bravery and principles.