There simply are no words:
Israel admitted Wednesday that one of its tanks killed three girls whose father’s cries on live television shocked viewers in the final days of the Gaza offensive, but said the action was “reasonable.”
Feb 042009
From Code Pink:
March 8, International Women’s Day, is a time when people around the globe focus on the needs and contributions of women. This year, on Sunday, March 8, 2009, women and men worldwide will commemorate the day by highlighting the plight of the women of Gaza and sending an international delegation to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
What more powerful way to celebrate International Women’s Day than working collectively to ease the suffering of the women of Gaza!
Please show your support by becoming a sponsor (to help with outreach), making a donation and/or joining the March 7-12 International Women’s Delegation to Gaza. Contact gaza.codepink@gmail.com or call Medea Benjamin at 415-235-6517.
———-Background:Palestinian women in Gaza have been devastated. We have seen the agonizing pictures of wailing women digging through the rubble of their destroyed homes to look for their buried children. We heard the stories of the dead mothers whose emaciated children were found hanging onto their bodies for days until reached by aid workers.
The Israeli attack that began on December 27 left over 1,000 dead, including 412 children and 110 women, and over 5,000 injured (1855 children and 795 women), according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. But that but that attack came after 18 months of a crippling blockade that had left the Palestinian population hungry, sick, weak, and already suffering from what UN officials called a catastrophic situation.
Women now have to care for the physical and emotional wounds in their families and communities, while dealing with their own broken hearts. They have to attend to the physical needs of their families in the face of shortages of water, electricity, food, medicine, heat, fuel, and shelter. Some neighborhoods have been almost totally destroyed, with over 100,000 people displaced from their homes.
According to the United Nations, “Children are hungry, cold, without electricity and running water, and above all, they’re terrified. Women are at greater risk of maternal death and or injury as maternity wards are being used as surgical facilities to treat the wounded.”
There are huge medical needs. Twenty-one medical facilities were damaged during the fighting, and there are severe shortages of emergency supplies, including sterilization equipment, needles, anesthetics, catheters, oxygen and essential medications.
The UN says that hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid are needed to help Gaza’s 1.4 million people and billions of dollars will be required to rebuild its shattered buildings and infrastructure.
Groups in Gaza that we will be supporting include:
- Palestinian Medical Relief Society
- Gaza Community Mental Health Program
- Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees
- Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Gaza: Diary of a Massacre Part 2–What is War?
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Jan 142009
Last week we posted a diary of what it is like to live in Gaza during the bombardment by Majeda Al-Saqqa, a young woman of Khan Younes in southern Gaza, her daily reports received via Women In Black, continue below. As any thinking person in the U.S. can figure out, the American media has a wee tendency to minimize their presentations of the graphic evidence of the carnage of war, be it in Iraq, or Afghanistan or Gaza. Fortunately there is Al Jazeera who has made footage available via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. As feminists, we believe it is crucial to see the results of militarism in order to truly understand why it must end. Here is one of their videos, if you follow the link, you can view many more.
It goes without saying that there are women and children specific impacts of militarism. Last week Women’s ENews reported that one of those impacts in Gaza is the converting of maternity hospitals into hospitals to care for the wounded. The result is that women delivering babies who inconveniently did not check the calendar to see that they weren’t born during a war have little or no access to necessary medical care.
“On the ground, in Gaza, maternal health care and related medical support stand frozen until further notice. Nurses and doctors that normally work in the maternity wards have been redirected to overcrowded emergency rooms. Pregnant women told Women’s eNews they are being turned away at the door.
All of Gaza’s 56 primary health care clinics depend on back-up generators and face fuel shortages, the World Health Organization reported Jan 7. Three mobile clinics and three ambulances have been destroyed.Among the hardest hit is Al Shifa Hospital, the only maternity ward with neonatologists in Gaza City. Currently, there are 30 neonatal units. Power shortages have left premature infants in incubators tethered between life and death.”
If you would like to donate money specifically to ease the suffering of women and children, you can donate via Madre here.
And now finally, here are Majeda Al-Saqqa’s reflections from inside Gaza.
6 January 2009
What is war?
Arslan asks me again: “What is war?
“Who’s making it and why?”
My mother appears just in time with her fancy stationary to give to the kids.
“Come on all of you,” I call.
“Majed, Arslan, Wael, Dima. I’m going to explain to you what war is.”
I put the paper on the floor:
“In English we write: ‘W-A-R.’
“‘W’ which is like ‘V’ + ‘V’
“‘A’ as in Arslan…”Wael interrupts: “No, not like that. He asked you, he wants to know what is war –
like the war in the sky, not like the war in the classroom.”I look at Wael: “But they’re happy with my answer. What’s your problem, little man?”
“No, they aren’t.
Dima jumps in: “She’s lying to you.
“She’s trying to review English lessons because Majed’s school is closed and he’ll
forget the alphabet in English.”“Ok, Majed shall I continue?” I ask, trying to ignore the other kids.
“Yes, but tell me what war is, not how we write it in English.”
“Ok then, but it will take such a long time to explain. Let’s save it for later. For now,
take your stationery and go and draw.”I hope they won’t ask me again.
Let someone else answer this question of theirs.
Like Rachel Corrie before her, Huwaida Arraf truly epitomizes heroism. According to Women In Black, this video from Deep Dish TV was shot in the West Bank, the exact date is not known. Fair warning, this footage will bring tears to your eyes:
A Korean camera crew in the Occupied Territories of Palestine documented one of the most heroic actions we have ever seen. The courageous action of Huwaida Arraf is in the spirit of her colleague from the International Solidarity Movement, Rachel Corrie, who gave her life to defend a Palestinian home. This video seems to have been recorded in the West Bank near Bil’in. Huwaida was on two of the boats that sailed to Gaza in the last few months with food and medicine–the second was rammed by the IOF and had to dock in Lebanon.
Huwaida Arraf (born 1976 in Detroit, Michigan) is a co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization. The stated mission of the ISM is to resist the Israeli occupation using nonviolent tactics. Arraf is married to Adam Shapiro, another ISM co-founder, whom she met while both were working at the Jerusalem center of “Seeds of Peace”, an organization that seeks to foster dialogue between Jewish and Palestinian youth.
Arraf, who is Christian, is the daughter of a Israeli Arab father and a Palestinian mother. Arraf majored in Arabic and Judaic studies and political science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She also spent a year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and studied Hebrew on a kibbutz.[1].
Huwaida later earned a JD at American University’s Washington College of Law. Her focus was on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, with a particular interest in war crimes prosecution.
In the political dialog regarding Gaza as is so often the case in war and violent conflict, the voices of women who stand in opposition to the reign of terror that is taking place are being all but silenced by both the media and governmental bodies. Despite mandates such as United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 which mandates consideration of the impact of conflict on women’s lives as well as the full participation of women in all peace negotiations, the wisdom and concerns of women are systemically ignored.
As Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission and Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders Ministerial Initiative, points out,
“We may have accepted in principle that politics should include both women and men, but this has not been adequately applied to foreign and security policy. A recent report by Operation 1325, a Swedish umbrella organisation working for women and peace, revealed that nine out of ten civilians sent to work in conflict areas are men. Women are not regarded as having enough knowledge or competence in security questions and, as a result, European peace-making missions remain a project by and for men.
Given the often determinate role that women’s organisations have played on the ground in conflict resolution, it is absurd that they are so under-represented in the international work in this field. Not only does it reflect an important limitation to democracy, it is also a threat to global security and to women across the globe. By excluding women from conflict management, we exclude a female perspective and experience that could contribute to peace building projects that better correspond to the real needs of all those affected by conflict.”
As the violence and its consequences continue unabated, it is urgent that we listen and pay heed to the brave and eloquent women in Gaza, in Israel and throughout the world who are speaking out and taking action to end the atrocities that are taking place in Gaza.
From Israel:
Feminist groups and pundits were the first to come out against the Gaza operation from its outset. In an op-ed for Maariv/NRG Sunday, feminist activist Dorit Rabinovich called upon Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to oppose the war.
“In a move that is nothing but pure chauvinism and sexism, made up of slogans about invasion, occupation, penetration and a disregard for the will of the public in the country, this is Livni’s time to say ‘enough’ to the government’s rape of society,” she wrote.
Rabinovich predicted that soon, hundreds of thousands would take to the streets against the war, and the pundits will also come out against it. As a precedent she cited the successful protest by women’s groups against the IDF security zone in Lebanon, which was aided by feminist journalists like Shelly Yechimovich (now a Labor MK). That movement is credited with causing then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s decision to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000.
On Monday, a coalition of Israeli women’s groups filed a complaint against Israel to the United Nations Security Council. The groups claimed that Israel is not complying with a law passed in 2005 that requires the participation of women in the Israeli government’s decision-making forums.
Gaza resident Dr. Mona El-Farra is providing updates on From Gaza With Love where she recommends donations to help Palestinian women and children be made via the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
From Palestinian mothers in the UK in a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
(W)e want to emphasise that the involvement of women in any peace negotiations is necessary. We would like to remind the UK about that On 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 which recognises the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women as well as recognizing the under-valued and under-utilized contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peace-building, and stresses the importance of their equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security. In view of this, we would like to know what steps are being taken to incorporate a gender perspective on any and all peace efforts. Is the UK government ensuring that appropriate women are involved in decision making at all levels in the conflict resolution and peace processes?
We look forward to meeting with you urgently.
The Women’s International League For Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has a statement here that ends with this excellent quote from the Israeli Women’s Coalition for Peace:
“The dance of death and destruction must come to an end. We demand that war no longer be an option, nor violence as strategy, nor killing an alternative. The society we want is one in which every individual can lead a life of security – personal, economic, and social.”
In Jakarta:
About 200 Indonesian women protested against Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip outside the Egyptian embassy on Friday.
Carrying posters showing wounded and dead Palestinian children, they urged Egypt to open its border with Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Implores that women from both sides of the Gaza territories be bought into a peace process. Women from both sides have established peace principles long before men were shaking hands for television cameras. As leaders, mothers, daughters and citizens of their nations they are in the best position to bring about peace, best stated in a 2008 article by Israeli feminist peace activist Gila Svirsky “Our principles went beyond the general assertion of ending hostilities….not just ending the Israeli occupation, but shaping a shared future of cooperation….opposition to militarism that permeates both societies, an equal role for women in negotiations for peace and a society that cares more about education, health, art and the poor than it does about maintaining a deadly arsenal” (Off Our Backs/, June 2008).”
(Please note–with Gila Svirsky’s kind permission, I have re-posted her article that is referred to above here. While it was written before the current conflict began, it offers an important alternative to envisioning a true peace process for both Palestinians and Israelis.)
In Israel: Boycott, Divest and Sanction, Naomi Klein examines why an economic boycott of Israel is a potent tool for ending the violence and eloquently rebuts the arguments that have been made against this strategy.
And finally, Women of Colour Network Australia examines why what is happening in Gaza is a feminist issue, examining the following questions:
- What is the value of a Palestinian life?
- Is the current Israeli bombing of Gaza a feminist issue?
- What actions can those of us who are far away from Palestine take to ensure solidarity with the Palestinian people?
The Feminist Peace Network will continue posting the wise voices of women addressing the crisis in Gaza. Below is a list of earlier posts addressing the current situation. Here also are links to other recent posts regarding Gaza:
Feminist Perspectives On Ending The Israeli Occupation And Getting To Peace With The Palestinians By Gila Svirsky Jewish Women In Toronto: Gaza Is Not In Our Name (video of the sit-in at the Israeli Consulate in Toronto
Gaza: Diary of a Massacre
Jewish Canadian Women Occupy Israeli Consulate in Toronto
When We Are Persuaded That The Safety Of Our Nations Depends On The
Cold-Blooded Murder Of Children, We Have No Future-Tell Obama You Want The
U.S. To Support A Ceasefire In Gaza NOW
McKinney Calls On Obama To Speak Out About Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza
Joint Statement From Israeli Women’s Groups On The Violence In Gaza
Starhawk on Gaza: “I Just Don’t Get It.Or Rather, I Do.”
Statement On The Violence In Gaza
