01 October 2009

The World We Live In

GUEST POST

There are many people like myself who became morally outraged at what they witnessed in Gaza. Many of us began blogs, and many of us follow the events like clockwork, day in and day out. Every move made, every action, every injustice. Hoping against hope for a fair and just outcome for Palestinians who have suffered for years and continue to suffer and die at the hands of a people who have justified to themselves that only “their” lives are worth anything. Others lives are expendable. They kill because they can…...and they kill because they hate....

I’m upset, I’m angry, I’m sick to death of what a horrible place this world is. The USA and Israel frothing at the mouth to attack Iran because they don’t like the government, NOT over nuclear weapons, as Iran has none, But all the while ignoring Israel’s nukes. Religious lunatics, Zionists and Christian Zionists pushing for an all out Holy war, trying to force some psychotic rapture on the worlds population, killing us all because they have perverted religion to the point that they are no longer any different than Al Qaeda. A world where the law does not apply to everyone equally, a place where we witness no respect for democracy, freedom and justice in Palestine or anywhere else. Where countries can decide that they have the right to collectively punish an entire population of innocent people, stealing their lives right out from under them in seconds, and do this just because they can… The world is filled with people who have no value or respect, what so ever, for the sanctity of life. We see this everywhere, on the news, in our neighbourhoods and we see it in Israel with it’s genocide in Gaza and its inability to see one Palestinian life as being worthwhile. These values are being passed onto children, they become what they live and see. And they see war, and they see murder, and they see no one extending a hand of true friendship, no one attempting to make peace. As such we are producing generations who have no respect for living things. They kill because they can.

Each day we write and blog for Palestine, because we are good people who want to see an end to Palestinian suffering. There has been nothing to celebrate since 1400 died, no escape from the images we witnessed, no great “hope” from Obama, no great end in sight, no stopping of the settlements, no stopping of the killings, no giving up of illegal land theft. Nothing….. But we keep writing and keep hoping anyway. We try….. At times we get depressed, so we need to have some “good” in our lives, to counter against all the evil we read and write about every day. Each of us finds our little bit of “good” where ever we can manage to find it. With friends, family, pets, hobbies. Whatever can give us a few minutes of joy, whatever can give us a feeling that the world is not as horrible as we see everyday. Something that makes us smile for a fleeting second, something good, something kind.

Today a small piece of the “good and kind” in my life was stolen from me.

Today, something happened, something horrific. Well, to me personally anyway. Which in a round about way, helps to prove my point exactly. Two weeks ago a little cat appeared at my house. She was cold, starving and very friendly. I fed her and she ate like she had not seen food in weeks. She was a source of joy, of good, of kindness. I fixed a warm bed for her in my back garden shed where she curled up and was so thankful. She remained each day in the garden, happy to see me when I’d come out to feed her or visit with her throughout the day. I became attached to her. I named her “Aoife” after a good friend, that’s an Irish name pronounced like this in English: “E-Faa”

She had become part of our family along with the horses, ducks, chickens and dogs. If I read something horrible taking place in Palestine, her antics would often force me to smile for a moment. She was a tiny piece of good in this world. I looked forward each morning to seeing her at the back door, waiting for food and attention. I was working on getting her accustomed to the other cats..Things were going well, until today when I called for her this morning and she did not come. I looked in the shed again and again. I continued to call and check the shed each hour, 10 O’clock turned into 11 and then 12 and then 1 and then at 2:30 PM I heard a feint cry coming from the shed. When I looked inside she was in her little bed, but she was not “ok” she was not “alright.”

She was laid on her side, and could not move. She had somehow dragged herself back home to her bed after being brutally stabbed and torn apart by some vile human being. The same type of people I described above that fill our world with their murdering hatred, decided her life was not worth anything in the grand scheme of things.

She laid there crying to me when she saw me. Her right arm and chest had been skinned, completely and totally away….gone. Also part of her back leg had been skinned and she had been stabbed in her stomach, some of her internal organs were exposed and she could do nothing but look at me for help. I immediately rushed her to the Vet Surgery, en route she did not move, she stared at me as I held her in a towel, as if to ask why? What had she done to deserve this? I thought of how on a much GREATER scale, thousands of Palestinians held their children in their arms rushing them to the hospital, hoping and praying they would be alright, their lives robbed by the same kind of mindset that I spoke of before.

The vet said they would do what they could and I was told to go home and wait for the phone call after the assessment, x-rays and emergency surgery. The phone call came at half five. She managed to survive the surgery to have her intestines repaired, re-attached and re-inserted; she is on an IV drip of antibiotics and fluids and is suffering from massive trauma and infection due to the perforated intestine. The vet will stay with her throughout the night monitoring her, and I will receive another phone call at 8 AM. She has been given a 20% chance of surviving. There is not much hope.

And then I thought to myself, how all of this happened to Aoife in just a few hours, first alive and well, then on deaths doorstep in the blink of an eye. I was reminded of Operation Cast Lead and the 1400 Palestinian civilians who were just living their lives one minute and then having that life stolen from them the next. I thought about the poor mothers who found their children in the same condition that I found Aoife today, laying there dying before their eyes, because their life is worthless to others. This is our world today and it is evil and it sucks.

I can never erase the images of the hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians who were massacred and mangled, nor can I erase the image of Aoife laying there mangled. This is our world, this is the evil we face. So as I wait for the next phone call I tell myself that I know in my heart that the majority of people are decent in this world. I TELL myself that EVERYDAY, because I HAVE to believe that. I must believe that. Otherwise there is no hope for Palestine and no hope for any of us. We must keep getting up every day, protesting, marching, writing our politicians and blogging about the injustice inflicted onto Palestine in order to change this world, to stop the mindset that allows “humans” to kill, just because they can. Be it murdering an innocent Palestinian child, raining down white phosphorous onto civilians, bombing from above with DIME missiles, or murdering a small animal. Just because they can…………..

So be careful to protect your small pieces of "good" in this world, because the evil ones are always poised to take anything good and innocent away, be it in Palestine or your own back yard. They will not win, we won't let them, Because their lives should mean something to someone, somewhere…... I promise to keep doing what ever I can to change this terrible world to a better one. This is our world, It’s all we have left, and we must change it.

16 comments:

cataurocubano said...

dear friend, What a F life!!! I was reading your post and I saw myself with all your sufer and thinking, Like you, me, and another .... Those moments make you grow strong and..... KEEP GOING

Alex said...

I hope Aoife makes it and is OK again. Great post! WE will do whatever we can! Take care.

Anonymous said...

I understand what you mean. I know we must go on. Some days, it's very very tough.

It's also very painful reading about Aoife. How cruel!

Emma said...

Dear Irish 4 Palestine,

I am an American Palestinian woman who lives in Colorado Springs USA with my husband and children. I read your blog regularly and smile. Thank you Irish 4 Palestine for your heart and soul. You don't know what a hostile country it is here for those of us with Palestinian roots.

Emma said...

Here is what kills me, Irish 4 Palestine - during Gaza they showed one woman who had lost 4 daughters in one bombing - the 5th had survived and had watched her sisters die. They were all sleeping in one bed. They showed them wrapped all in white, in death, together. I can't even begin to imagine... I wonder about that woman, how she is now, how she must feel...

I4P Writers Group said...

To all who commented:

Many thanks for your replies. Upon reflection I hope people understood what I was meaning, I was not attempting to equate Aoife’s life with the life of a Palestinian and I sincerely hope it did not come across that way. What I was trying to point out is the world is filled with people who have the ability to take a life, any life, at will, without remorse. Be it a human life, or any life. It seems no longer are wars fought soldier to soldier, but somewhere along the way it became “accepted” by large countries that should be leading by example, but who instead kill civilians. Israelis call it “protecting Israel and deserved”. We, the decent people of this world must never let people like this outnumber us. Otherwise what world do we leave for our children. Thanks for your comments, they are much appreciated.

In solidarity,
Ban Sidhe

I4P Writers Group said...

@Gracey

You must feel so disheartened. I have lived as a 2nd calls citizen in my own county for most of my life. I know what that feels like. For too many years the Zionist controlled media and Hollywood have created so many movies and television shows that paint all Muslims or Arabs in a bad light, all of them. Yet we see thousands upon thousands of movies where Jews are the heros, or we see movies about the Jewish suffering. Holocaust shows and movies but never one about the Nakba.

I have wondered when there will be one Hollywood person who will dare to break ranks and tell the truth about what happened in Gaza. For instance, someone should have the guts to make a movie about this man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUh6xVlndhM&feature=related


and here is the Jews welcoming him and his dead daughters at the Israeli hospital after what they saw on television. They can never admit they are not infallible, never admit they murdered innocent people. Listen to the insane Zionist women trying to cast blame on the Doctor, who actually worked in Israel for many years saving the lives of jews. And this was his repayment.. Evil psychotic worthless piece of humanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh_F0p8Jcrc&feature=related

I4P Writers Group said...

8:00AM update on Aoife

She is still alive that's 18 hours now. I am still hoping against hope that she will be a miracle.

Anonymous said...

I read your blog every day - which I stumbled across after the Gaza murders. As you know the horific images of the murders in Gaza have affected many of us, yet after all that Israel is getting away it and yet none of this is reported on the mainstream media (our UK TV channels for example. Its blogs such as this one that reminds me that I am not going mad - the Israeli regime is one of hypocritical murdering ********. Thanks for doing this.
P.S I hope Aoife pulls through.

realisticbird said...

How brutal! I'm so sorry to hear about Aoife, really hope she will be ok. :( People do unspeakable things to innocents with no sense of anything decent or good what so ever, psychotic maniacs!

People like us who want a world of justice always carry a sad place in our hearts for the ones who suffer injustices and hope our contribution no matter how little might make this world a better place.

take care

a little bit of everything said...

so sorry Irish man. So wrong what happened to this little piece of goodness in the world. How is the cat now? How is the expense for such things in Ireland? Is it affordable? Can we help with a donation?

I4P Writers Group said...

@ Owl

thank you so much for your good wishes A Chara:) I am not even thinking about the cost at this point. I will make payments if needs be. Right now it is almost half ten at night and the last update was at 8PM tonight and she is still alive, thank god for that much.

She still has some broken bones that need to be dealt with if she does have a miracle and survives the surgery, infection and being skinned. Right now the focus is on keeping her alive and controlling any infection. I am told that the highest risk now will be over the next two days as these types of infections appear usually three days after the trauma.

I am encouraged that she is still alive, although afraid to hope to much just yet. I will be allowed to see her in the morning, of which I am glad to ahve that opportunity. Because the last image of her was so gruesome that I need to replace that picture in my mind with another one of her.

Again, I am so humbled and thankful for all the comment people have left for me. I'm normally not this emotional, but you just get so sick of all the evil in this world, especially on the heels of the Gaza genodie and continued agression by Israel. when you deal with the Palestinian issue daily, it gets you down because you cannot stop it or make it better for all those people suffering and sometimes you just have to vent:)

Is Mise
Ban:):)

a little bit of everything said...

how is the cat now irish man? keep us informed. And keep venting. You are venting for all of us.

I4P Writers Group said...

I will post any Aoife updates here. Many have asked me how she is doing. You can see her and her latest update here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/colmcille32/3984042022/in/set-72157622520993338/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/colmcille32/3984042236/in/set-72157622520993338/
again thank you to everyone for pulling for her;o)

linda said...

That is just so sad and so outrageous! I have no words that could comfort you but completely understand what you are going through! My heart goes out to you and to Aoife.

realisticbird said...

:( I told my brother about Aoife he couldn't believe anyone can do that to a harmless animal. She is a beautiful cat, suffered so much. Hope she becomes better than before.

Thanks for the update.

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