African writers have taken to social media to speak out against the ongoing violence in Palestine due to the actions of the Israeli military and the militant group Hamas. Since October 7, more than 5,000 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the Gaza conflict, according to the BBC.
Additionally, the BBC reports that the Israeli government has also cut off electricity, water, food, medicine, and fuel into Gaza since this past week. The intensity of this conflict and lack of humanitarian response is shocking, and we are glad that African writers are using their platforms to raise awareness.
Most African writers such as Warsan Shire, Molara Wood, Mona Eltahawy, and Akwaeke Emezi are calling the situation as it is – a genocide due to the brutality of Israel’s response and the bombing of schools and hospitals in Gaza.
By sharing Palestinian poetry, Shire called on viewers to stop hiding behind their silence and stand up for Palestinians. She asked in her Instagram caption, “when you were a child and you read about historical mass human atrocities, what did you imagine you would do if you were alive as it happened?”
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In his Facebook post, Mukoma Wa Ngugi shared an essay he recently wrote about how American universities are trying to silence anyone who speaks up against Israel’s occupation and bombardment of Gaza. It is titled “Gaza and my political conscience” and is out on Africa Is a Country. Read a snippet below:
Wood used the hashtag #FreePalestine to share some resources on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflicts and evidence of genocide both in terms of videos as well as harmful language used by the Israeli government. Take a look at his posts below:
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Eltahawy also posted a slew of posts to call for an end to the genocide in Palestine. In a caption, she adds she is proud to fight back and speak up:
We who oppose Israel are not savages and there are more options than Israel/Jihad. And if it makes me a savage to oppose that option, if it makes me a savage to support Palestinian freedom from apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide, then I am a proud savage.
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Emezi also took to the stage by decrying the violence and sharing names of some poems that reader might be able to turn to during this difficult time. Check out their post below:
face for the algorithm. poems for a world that has never, never stopped burning. that burns now in sudan, tigray, palestine. that burned in biafra and in jaffna, genocide upon genocide upon mass grave.
oh, beloved. here are some poems.
2 – in the morning, before anything bad happens, by molly brodak
3 – before i was a gazan, by naomi shibab nye
4 – words whispered to a child under siege, by joseph fasano
5 – we lived happily during the war, by ilya kaminsky
6 – oh rascal children of gaza, by khaled juma
7 – “who remembers the armenians?” by najwan darwish
9 – mimesis, by fady joudah
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Other writers such as Jordan Ifueko and Clarice Gerard shared reflections with their readers about creating a survivable world where we do not have to witness the deaths of children. Ifueko commented in her caption, “Only we can build “a world worth surviving in.””
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Gerard used her platform to share some thoughts about the ongoing violence and her stand on the politics of the situation. Read below:
It’s been difficult formulating words through grief, difficult formulating thoughts through the violence on my retina, difficult coming up with actions with the incapacitating despair
I know many of you also think: what can I do, who am I to speak? (I think this often)
But I know I’m being asked to move through grief as not to add my personal insult to injury to a people who suffered longlasting terror. So that I can move with clarity and intention in support of those who know exactly how to liberate themselves and need us to bear witness and add what we can, donations, political insights and influence, our voices, prayers
We have the responsibility to not only show up past our own hang ups, but to do so steadily and with love
I know some who have just learned about the struggle of Palestine and posted non stop. I know some who organized for decades and said nothing. It is not our job to police how we show up. It is our job to say: welcome brother, sister, sibling. Your place was empty.
It is our job to radiate the frequency of liberation, so that we do not have to convince others to err on the side of humanity, they shall feel in their bones what is right
With all the Israeli propaganda we must not forget, it’s about fighting the illusion that we are separate, that our struggles are separate, that choosing the humanity of one means dehumanizing another. We’re actually saying because we see your humanity, we cannot condone any behavior that goes against it
I do not have much more to add to what so many have already said, what I’ve said before, but that you do not need a lot to contribute, you just need to show up as you are with the capacity you have. We must be and bring the light needed. Sometimes that means a gentle flame, other times a raging fire . . . Also, so many places in the world are hurting right now, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan hold them where there is space
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Some writers like Inua Ellams, who initially took a neutral stance toward the conflict, are now openly declaring that they were wrong earlier. Ellams added:
Free Palestinians* and Free Israelis*, free both peoples from the tyranny of bigoted, incompetent, vicious, warmongering leaders.
#ceasefire
I have edited this initial post because ‘Free Palestine’ is a powerful rallying cry, which I stand by, but which I diluted by placing it beside ‘Free Israel’.
I was wrong to do that.
But what I meant to say is that there are many, many Jewish citizens of Israel who have campaigned for decades, marched, protested, set up programs, nationally and internationally, against the far right ideology that has swept through Isreal. And some have been silenced, marginalised, in some cases forced to flee for their beliefs.
This in no way, at all, mirrors the horrendous experiences of those who live in Gaza, obviously, but they are also trapped in this; they also want to be free of the same savage government that Palestinians do not want to exist.
The first step to all of this, for a Free Palestine, is a ceasefire, and for lives to be saved.
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Still others like Laila Lalami are using their platform to bring an end to the violence and call for a ceasefire. In her Instagram post, Lalami shared screenshots of an open letter by the London Review of Books where writers and artists are calling for an end to the bloodshed. This is what she said:
I’m one of the signatories of this open letter in the LRB, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. So many innocent people have already been killed in the last week, and more are being killed every day. We have a moral duty to stop the bloodshed.
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Safia Elhillo also took to the occasion by offering poetry readings and workshops with a group of Middle Eastern writers in exchange for donations for the Palestinian cause. We are proud of Elhillo for building community through creative measures during this tough time!
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We, at Brittle Paper, do not condone this horrific violence against Palestinians and we urge you to contact your government leaders and call for a ceasefire, wherever you are in the world. Sign this petition (US) to do so.
Our hearts are with the Palestinian people.
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