I attended a conference on intercultural psychology last summer, and in a workshop on supporting Ukrainian refugees, we studied the history and politics that shaped generations since before the Soviet Union and led to the invasion of Ukraine in our lifetime.
We had to introduce ourselves and state our interest in attending the workshop. It was a room full of people from all over the world, and most of us were not psychologists. One of the participants, an occupational therapist from somewhere in the Mediterranean, speaking of the unity and staunch resistance of Ukrainians in their land and in diaspora said: ‘I don’t know much about anything, but I love a good hero story, and Ukrainians look like heroes to me.’
And isn’t that something? Heroism.
It is one thing to be a hero when the world lights up in your national colours, opens its doors to you, and denounces your oppressor in no uncertain terms. It is one thing to be a hero when you are surrounded by proud and public love, despite your circumstances.
But to be the underdog, and for those who call for your freedom to be blacklisted and shut down for their radical opinions on your right to life, and to watch world leaders applaud and support your oppressor and justify their noble cause of your extermination?
What, then, is a hero story when it comes to Palestinians?
Thank you for reading. This article is part of a series. Read the first article here, and follow this list to see all articles.
This series is intended to counter the inhumane media coverage of the current genocide in Palestine, and growing distractions from the movement to end occupation. My articles are written in the hopes of simplifying, humanising, and rationalising the discourse around this topic.
In the interest of contributing to traffic, I am attempting to write as many articles as possible. As stated, I do not aim to provide in-depth historical/political academic analyses of these matters, but to discuss these in a conversational manner.
For this reason, the articles in this series do not contain extensive references, but this does NOT mean that the information cited is baseless. Kindly reach out in the comments if there is anything that you would like to read further on or view a source for, and I would be happy to share.
Peace to a land that was created for peace and never saw a peaceful day. Peace to your martyrs and survivors, and peace to your blessed land. We pray for your ultimate victory, recovery, joy and peace. In your honour, Palestine, we will mourn for the dead and fight for the living.
Stand on the right side of history. Stand for truth, justice, and freedom. Stand for Palestine, from the river to the sea…
Said Moses to his people, “Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.” (7:128)
