#Blockade of Africa

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

The British Crusade Against Slavery | Sargon of Akkad

What really bothers me is Frankie Boyle's attempt to make British people feel ashamed of Britain's involvement in the slave trade. That really gets my goat because Britain's involvement in the slave trade is one of the most proud accomplishments of British history. And i know what you're thinking: oh my, goodness slavery is bad. And that's correct. Which is why the British ended it. For everyone.

[..] The Portuguese did take a few Africans back to Europe, but they didn't need to set up operations, because they discovered that there were already thriving slave trades in Africa. And so they bought slaves from African rulers and traders. The vast majority of slaves taken out of Africa were sold by African rulers, traders and military aristocracy who grew wealthy from the business. Most slaves were acquired through wars or by kidnapping. And before you start thinking that this is excessively barbaric, this was the standard for almost every civilized society all across the world.

[..] The point is that slavery was ubiquitous. No matter where on Earth you traveled, you found slaves. In Europe, in China, in the Middle East, in the New World, in India, in Scandinavia, in Africa. Slavery was as common an institution as animal husbandry.

[..] The West Africa Squadron was a detachment of the Royal Navy that was given the task of blockading Africa, the continent, to make sure that slave traders were not taking slaves to the Americas. Needless to say, in 1807 there was only a token force performing this operation, comprising of two ships. This number was increased to five ships until the war of 1812 with the United States, but after 1815 with Britain victorious in Europe and supreme at sea, the Royal Navy turned its attention back to the challenge. The institution of slavery was formally abolished in the British Empire in 1833 and by the 1850s, around 25 vessels and 2 000 officers and men were on the station, supported by nearly a thousand "kroomen," experienced fishermen recruited as sailors from what is now the coast of modern Liberia.

[..] All of this was done against the vested financial interests of hundreds of thousands of people. Entire nations were against the idea of abolishing slavery and the slave trade. The very notion was alien to the human existence until Britain made it happen. In the 19th century if you saw a ship bearing down on you flying this flag and you were a slave trader, you knew that this flag stood for liberty. This was the flag of a nation that defied human convention for a point of principle, and spent its blood sweat, tears and treasure to enforce it on the world. This is the flag of the nation that accepted the absolute moral truth that slavery is wrong. No matter what riches can be amassed, no matter what power can be gained, no matter the cost, slavery had to be abolished. That was the British crusade. When Britain held the reigns of world power, that is what she did with it.

Reaction:

#Sargon of Akkad #transatlantic slave trade #West Africa Squadron #Blockade of Africa #history #slavery #history of slavery #British crusade #religion is a mental illness

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Cuba in Africa: A documentary by Negash Abdurahman

Sunday, Sept. 24 – 2:00 p.m.

Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, 5278 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles

Sponsored by Let Cuba Live Coalition and Black Alliance for Peace

“Cuba in Africa” is the dramatic untold story of 420,000 Cubans – soldiers and teachers, doctors and nurses – who gave everything to end colonial rule and apartheid in Southern Africa.

Director Negash Abdurahman will be available via zoom to answer questions and discuss the film.

Hear about our campaign to get Cuba #OffTheList of state sponsors of terrorism and to break the U.S. blockade of that island country. Find out how you can get involved!

#Cuba #Africa #internationalism #films #Los Angeles #LetCubaLive #OffTheList #imperialism #blockade #apartheid #South Africa #Angola #Namibia #armed struggle #national liberation

[taiwantalk]

#I disagree with this title and writing. it is a state run economy. #other countries just persisted in bypassing the sanctions thru China Middle East and Africa #there’s even india. those are pretty much the biggest economies in the world #and United States did not really go hardball because the gamesmanship is not to force Russia to commit all out warfare which would then #lead to total blockade thru air and sea #taiwantalk #russia #ukraine

[immaculatasknight]

Heroes and zeroes

#Gaza #genocide #Palestine solidarity #Houthis #blockade #South Africa #apartheid #ICJ #Israel #crimes against humanity #settler colonialism #ethnic cleansing #bravery #courage

[herukapadmajungiansworld]

#food #russian blockade = world food shortage #russia invasion world food shortage #world food security #stop food shortage #ukraine resistance #stop russian invasion #putin war criminal #stop putin #defend ukraine #putin war ukraine russia #help ukraine #ukraine war #stop putin's agents usa #stop putin allies #i stand with ukraine #africa #worldwide mass hunger #hunger in africa

[menelik-incarnated]

ኢትዮጵያውያን ይህን መንግስት እና ህዋሀትን አንቀበልም!

ስድስት ሚሊዮን የአማራ ህዝብ የት እንደገባ እና ቴዎድሮስ አድህኖም በአማራ ሴቶች የሰራውን ወንጀል የረሳውን ይህን መንግስትና እና ህዋሀት ጋር አንደራደርም።

እርዳታ እና ሎጂስቲክ በመስጠት ህዝባችንን የሚያስጨፈጭፍ የጦር ሀይል አንቀበልም በኢትዮጵያ ዳር ድንበር አንደራደርም!

ሞት ለህዋሀት እና ፕሮስፕርቲ

#ethiopia #addisababa #politics and policy #africa #sweeping change #united nations #african union #africatakeactionnomorewords #blockade

[sweetestbaby]

in regards to the international court of justice ruling in favor of south africa's case, PLEASE do not fall into imperialistic pessimism. this is an unprecedented moment in history. even if the icj doesn't have absolute power to dismantle colonial forces (which no institution in the world has), even if there's still a long way to go between this ruling and a ceasefire, even if there's still so much to be done, this is the first time the occupational forces in palestine have been faced with this amount of international opposition, and it is strong international opposition that causes colonial forces to fall. do not fall into the "this is a theatre", "this is just symbolic", "this means nothing" discourse. bringing about freedom to palestine, and all colonized nations and peoples, includes judicial bureaucracy just as much as boycotting, violent opposition, blockades, sanctions etc. there has to be an official international position on the matter, and this is it. the icj ruling won't stop the occupation forces, but without this ruling things would be that much harder for the palestinian cause on the world stage. let's keep going from here.

#from the river to the sea palestine will be free #palestine #icj #icj hearing #international court of justice #free gaza #free palestine #colonialism #racism

[kropotkindersurprise]

December 7, 2023 - Hundreds of UK union workers blockaded companies who sell weapons or parts for fighter jets that Israel uses for its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Four factories were blockaded in Bournemouth, Lancashire, Brighton and Glasgow. Palestinian unions have asked for union workers across the world to use their power to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Dock workers have recenty heeded this call for solidarity by blocking Israeli weapons shipments in several countries, inculding South Africa, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, and Italy. [video]

#solidarity #unions #palestine #free palestine #blockade #workers #working class #industrial action #gif #occupation #apartheid #anti-colonialism #2023 #dockworkers #uk #factory #working clas #gaza

[intersectionalpraxis]

X/Formerly known as Twitter user states: I was walking around Tokyo today and an old Japanese man was wearing a Palestine flag with "stop genocide in Gaza." He was handing out a newspaper article that called out Israel's occupation and how it's against humanitarian law. I took one and he asked if I understood Japanese…" [this person later clarifies in the next post that they do not, but they accepted it and they provided an image of this newspaper article they recieved, which I attached, with a Google translation of the document, which I will add English translations for that were provided by this user on X/Twitter: @ fumiyafilm

Newspaper article piece states (Google rough translation: Japanese to English):

Rather than making human rights and democracy a double standard, we should put "life and livelihood at the centre of politics." Gaza : no one stands above international humanitarian law for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. As Israel's occupation and blockade of the Gaza Strip intensifies, an emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution co-sponsored by Jordan and others calling for "humanitarian" measures with 121 votes in favor and 1444 votes against [I believe the translation captured this incorrectly -I believe they mean 144?)] (Japan is). Canada's amendment did not recieve two-thirds majority required for adoption. The difference between the two resolutions is whether or not they specify resposibility for Hamas's terrorist acts. Jordan's proposal does not name Hamas, calling the increase in violence since the October 7th attack and "act of terrorism." You could say that, Jordan's plan is supported not only by Middle Eastern countries but also countries in the so-called Global South, such as Brazil, Malaysia, and South Africa (India is in favor and France is in favor of the G7). Protecting civillains does not mean ordering more than a million people to evacuate to a place with no shelter, food, water, medicine, or fuel. What we are seeing in Gaza is a clear intentional -This is a violation of humanitarian law, and I am deeply concerned about it. No party, no matter what, stands above international humanitarian law. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asserts, international public opinion (cut off on document) "war," "Arab vs. Israel," Pro-Israel is not pro-Barres," but rather a international movement calling for (unsure part of this document here) "stop the humanitarian crisis…"

#feminist #feminism #israel is an apartheid state #palestine #social justice #freepalastine🇵🇸 #free gaza #free palestine #israel is committing genocide #israel is a terrorist state #israeli propaganda #israeli apartheid #gazaunderfire #gaza strikes #gazaunderattack #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #ceasefire now #ceasefire #current events #japanese politics

[probablyasocialecologist]

Palestinian trade unions issue an urgent global call to action, calling on workers everywhere to halt the sale and funding of arms to Israel — and related military research. As Israel escalates its military campaign, Palestinian trade unions call on our counterparts internationally and all people of conscience to end all forms of complicity with Israel’s crimes - most urgently halting the arms trade with Israel, as well as all funding and military research. The time for action is now - Palestinian lives hang in the balance.  This urgent, genocidal situation can only be prevented by a mass increase of global solidarity with the people of Palestine and that can restrain the Israeli war machine. We need you to take immediate action - wherever you are in the world - to prevent the arming of the Israeli state and the companies involved in the infrastructure of the blockade. We take inspiration from previous mobilisations by trade unions in Italy, South Africa and the United States, and similar international mobilisations against the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s, the fascist dictatorship in Chile in the 1970s and elsewhere where global solidarity limited the extent of colonial brutality.  We are calling on trade unions in relevant industries: 1. To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel. 2. To refuse to transport weapons to Israel. 3. To pass motions in their trade union to this effect. 4. To take action against complicit companies involved in implementing Israel’s brutal and illegal siege, especially if they have contracts with your institution.  5. Pressure governments to stop all military trade with Israel, and in the case of the US, funding to it. We make this call as we see attempts to ban and silence all forms of solidarity with the Palestinian people. We ask you to speak out and take action in the face of injustice as trade unions have done historically. We make this call in the belief that the struggle for Palestinian justice and liberation is not only a regionally and globally determined struggle. It is a lever for the liberation of all dispossessed and exploited people of the world.

#israel #palestine #free gaza #gaza #west bank

[sayruq]

In Oct, European leaders lined up to support Israel's war on Gaza. By that point, hundreds of Palestinians had been killed in airstrikes. There was a worry among some officials that by doing this, they will end up alienated from the global south

That fear has come to fruition as countries like Bolivia cut diplomatic ties, South Africa took Israel to the ICJ, Yemen has blockaded the Red Sea (is now regularly attacking American and British warships), Malaysia has banned all Israeli ships from its ports, etc.

Here's the latest example. The EU organised the Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum. It was a disaster for many reasons (7 European foreign ministers didn't bother to show up) but the important issue was Gaza

Simple put Israel, the EU and America will not escape accountability for what they've done to Gaza

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza #global south #european union

[untexting]

We Are No Strangers to Human Suffering, but We’ve Seen Nothing Like the Siege of Gaza

Dec. 11, 2023 | Source: New York Times Op-ed

By Michelle Nunn (CARE USA), Tjada D’Oyen McKenna (Mercy Corps), Jan Egeland (Norwegian Refugee Council), Abby Maxman (Oxfam America), Jeremy Konyndyk (Refugees International), and Janti Soeripto (Save the Children U.S.)

We are no strangers to human suffering — to conflict, to natural disasters, to some of the world’s largest and gravest catastrophes. We were there when fighting erupted in Khartoum, Sudan. As bombs rained down on Ukraine. When earthquakes leveled southern Turkey and northern Syria. As the Horn of Africa faced its worst drought in years. The list goes on.

But as the leaders of some of the world’s largest global humanitarian organizations, we have seen nothing like the siege of Gaza. In the more than two months since the horrifying attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in some 240 abductions, about 18,000 Gazans — including more than 7,500 children — have been killed, according to the Gazan health ministry. More children have been reported killed in this conflict than in all major global conflicts combined last year.

The atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7 were unconscionable and depraved, and the taking and holding of hostages is abhorrent. The calls for their release are urgent and justified. But the right to self-defense does not and cannot require unleashing this humanitarian nightmare on millions of civilians. It is not a path to accountability, healing or peace. In no other war we can think of in this century have civilians been so trapped, without any avenue or option to escape to save themselves and their children.

Most of our organizations have been operating in Gaza for decades. But we can do nothing remotely adequate to address the level of suffering there without an immediate and complete cease-fire and an end to the siege. The aerial bombardments have rendered our jobs impossible. The withholding of water, fuel, food and other basic goods has created an enormous scale of need that aid alone cannot offset.

Global leaders — and especially the United States government — must understand that we cannot save lives under these conditions. A significant change in approach from the U.S. government is needed today to pull Gaza back from this abyss.

For a start, the Biden administration must stop its diplomatic interference at the United Nations, blocking calls for a cease-fire.

Since the pause in fighting ended, we are again witnessing an exceptionally high level of bombardment, and at increasing ferocity. The few areas left in Gaza that are untouched by bombardment are shrinking by the hour, forcing more and more civilians to seek safety that does not exist. Over 80 percent of 2.3 million Gazans are now displaced. The newest Israeli offensive is now forcing them to cluster on a tiny sliver of land.

The bombardment is not the only thing brutally cutting lives short. The siege of — and blockades surrounding — Gaza have led to a critical food scarcity, cutoffs of medical supplies and electricity, and a lack of clean water. There is barely any medical care to be found in the enclave and few medications. Surgeons are working by the light of their mobile phones, without anesthetics. They are using dishcloths as bandages. The risk of waves of waterborne and infectious disease will only grow in the increasingly overcrowded living conditions of the displaced.

One of our colleagues in Gaza recently described their struggle to feed an orphaned infant who had been rescued from the rubble of an airstrike. The baby had not eaten for days after her mother’s death. Colleagues could only scrounge up powdered milk — not formula, not breast milk, and not a nutritionally suitable infant food — to help stave off her starvation.

Before the war, hundreds of truckloads of aid were needed each day to support Gazans’ daily existence. Only a trickle of that required aid has made it into Gaza in the two months since the war began. But even if more were allowed in, our work in Gaza is dependent on ensuring our teams can move safely to set up warehouses, shelters, health clinics, schools, and water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure.

Today our staff members are not safe. They tell us they’re making the daily choice of staying with their families in one place so that they can die together or go out to seek water and food.

Among leaders in Washington, there is constant talk about preparing for the “day after.” But if this relentless bombardment and siege continue, there will be no “day after” for Gaza. It will be too late. Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance today.

So far, American diplomacy in this war has not delivered on the goals President Biden has conveyed: protection of innocent civilians, adherence to humanitarian law, more aid delivery. To stop Gaza’s apocalyptic free fall, the Biden administration must take tangible measures, as it does in other conflicts, to up the ante with all parties to the conflict and bordering countries.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken once said of the war in Ukraine that the targeting of heat, water and electricity was a “brutalization of Ukraine’s people” and “barbaric.” The Biden administration should acknowledge that the same holds true in Gaza. While it has announced measures to deter violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, Mr. Blinken and his colleagues should apply similar pressure to stop violence against civilians in Gaza, too.

The harrowing events unfolding before us are shaping a global narrative that, if unchanged, will reveal a legacy of indifference in the face of unspeakable suffering, bias in the application of the laws of conflict and impunity for actors that violate international humanitarian law.

The U.S. government must act now — and fight for humanity.

Ms. Nunn is the president and chief executive of CARE USA. Ms. McKenna is the chief executive of Mercy Corps. Mr. Egeland is the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Ms. Maxman is the president and chief executive of Oxfam America. Mr. Konyndyk is the president of Refugees International. Ms. Soeripto is the president and chief executive of Save the Children U.S.

#gaza #gaza strip #world news #news #middle east #israel #palestine #news on gaza #ceasefire #israel palestine conflict #human rights #humanitarian crisis #international law #PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ #DONT LOOK AWAY #current events #social justice #ceasefire now #end occupation #palestinians

[thethief1996]

For the past 100 days, Israel has been waging a genocide campaign in Gaza without any sort of reprieve from western countries. Palestinians are suffering from a human-made famine, surpassing the scale and speed of any other famine enforced in the past 75 years. Healthcare professionals are being cornered into Rafah by constant airstrikes, sniper attacks and bombardments at hospitals, forced to leave patients and medical supplies behind. Unmaned quadcopters opened fire on the maternity and ICU unities of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital and killed 8 civilians. Yesterday, the hospital ran out of fuel and the babies in incubators might die anytime soon. Only 127 aid trucks are being allowed into Gaza of the 500 allowed before the war, under "normal" blockade conditions. The distribution of food and water is made basically impossible by the destruction of communications and the looming threat of executions against people gathered to receive it. Just today snipers killed 3 people in line to receive food in Gaza City and Israel officials have the gall to say the problem is that humanitarian organizations, whose volunteers are being executed at unprecedent rates, aren't putting in enough effort. The IDF drops leaflets telling desperate refugees to flee and then station tanks on the roads or bombs the safe zones.

Ever since I read South Africa's submission to the ICJ I can't stop thinking about how they label it as the demication of Gaza and its people. On every sphere of the government, there are statements calling for the anihilation of the people of Gaza (pages 59 to 67). The Prime Minister has directly adressed the army telling them to wipe off the amalekites (page 60), and South Africa showed tiktoks of the soldiers repeating his speech word for word before committing massacres. And yet they have the gall to come to the world and say they haven't targeted hospitals, they haven't withheld aid and that the statements are "random assertions." To prove that Netanyahu isn't a blood thirsty pig, they pasted a statement he made ONE DAY before the hearing started, which is frankly ridiculous we're supposed to believe isn't a PR stunt (page 34).

No western outlet streamed the highest stake court hearing in the 21st century, but you can rest assured they streamed Israel's pathetic defense. And Canada, Germany, the UK and the US, countries which have in no way reckoned with their own genocidal pasts, have come forward in defense of Israel like they have any moral high ground to patronize the world about genocide.

Take action, for their sake. Motaz has said "Don't call yourself a free person if you can't make changes. If you can't stop a genocide that is still ongoing". We need to fight in any way we can to stop their massacre.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, McDonalds, Disney and Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

#free palestine #save gaza #gaza under attack

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

We need you to take immediate action — wherever you are in the world — to prevent the arming of the Israeli state and the companies involved in the infrastructure of the blockade. We take inspiration from previous mobilizations by trade unions in Italy, South Africa and the United States and similar international mobilizations against the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s, the fascist dictatorship in Chile in the 1970s and elsewhere where global solidarity limited the extent of colonial brutality.

We are calling on trade unions in relevant industries:

To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel.

To refuse to transport weapons to Israel.

To pass motions in their trade union to this effect.

To take action against complicit companies involved in implementing Israel’s brutal and illegal siege, especially if they have contracts with your institution.

Pressure governments to stop all military trade with Israel and, in the case of the U.S., stop funding it.

#labor #unions #solidarity #FreePalestine #Israel #antiwar #workers #class struggle #imperialism #apartheid #occupation #South Africa #Chile #Ethiopia #Struggle La Lucha

[immaculatasknight]

Dawn of the heroes

#Palestine solidarity #Gaza #genocide #ICJ #justice #South Africa #Houthis #blockade #bravery #courage #righteousness #uprising #global south #settler colonialism #emancipation

[dostoyevsky-official]

Blockade of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University demanding the university divest from companies doing business in South Africa. April 12, 1985.

#1985 #posted about 1968 but the same myopic condescension was aimed at students in 1985