Reflections on the 72nd Year of the Nakba

Today is Nakba Day — the 72nd instance of "the Catastrophe" when Palestinians were first expelled from their homes, when 400+ villages were destroyed and 700,000 lives expelled. What more can be said that hasn't already been said in 70+ years of this struggle? What more can I write that hasn't already found its way into my work; into the work of my friends and colleagues?

The fact is, our displacement continues to this day, but so does our resilience. The fact is, Palestinians are not alone in facing such displacement in this world, and that should unify all of us marginalized peoples. The fact is — contrary to what many are made to believe — the world's lands are not scarce, and such notions of scarcity are only induced by certain world powers' desire for control and exploitative growth.

I know enough people may think that Palestine shows up in the news often, that this coverage is a privilege. But, I think it's important to remember that this "coverage" — especially biased coverage at that — has not freed Palestinians, and has overwhelmingly harmed those of us and our allies who choose to speak truth to power. I want to stress that the work done for Palestine — for me at least — isn't a fight I take on because I'm Palestinian. Rather, Palestine is but one of several salient, modern day examples of apartheid and colonialism at work, not unlike the struggles of indigenous kin here on this land, our black and brown kin across the world, and so on and so forth. The liberation of Palestine is hopefully a domino falling in the greater struggle to topple all oppressive entities and imagine a new, safer world for all of us to inhabit.

The truth is that all peoples deserve a place to call home — just not at the expense of someone else. May we all return soon to homes we deserve.