happy mothers day to the mothers of palestine who have lost their children and to the mothers who were forced to give birth and be separated from their children in congo.
for anyone who isn’t aware, friendsofthecongo.org/campaigns contains a list of actions you can take to help the democratic republic of congo, including pdfs of postcards you can print and send to a list of tech companies to tell them to stop using child miners AND a letter you can sign and send as well (+ potentially incorporate the main points of that letter into any scripts you might already be using for emails or calls to your reps!). friends of the congo also has a volunteer application form and a youtube channel
What really gets me about the sentiment "Don't look away" is that its always used in the wrong context. People may be well meaning, but what they end up doing is flooding the conversation with zionist carnage in a manner not unlike the way zionists *want* their atrocities to be seen.
Rather than thinking, "I must traumatize myself with this image for Palestine," try, "I will not turn my back on the people of Palestine." Watching them die is not enough. Speaking only of their suffering is not enough.
Don't look away when Palestinians resist. Don't condemn them when they fight for their lives and land. Speak for their rights to live and move freely in their own homeland. Do not look away from their life. Palestinians are here, they remain, and they will remain, and they are in the future, and they will live free and happy lives just as anyone else should be able to.
"Don't look away" should not be a call to engage in real life atrocities like its a horror movie. "Don't look away" should be a call to make Palestine the focus of everything. Don't let people FORGET or IGNORE what is happening. You can talk about what is happening without sharing the same ghoulish photos that zionists love.
This campaign was started by @/atute_insp on tiktok and her team Mutual Aim to collect money for the DRC, Sudan, and Tigray. The donations will be divided between the three causes. If you would like do donate but don't have the funds to donate to multiple campaigns, this is a great way to help both the Congo, Sudan, and Tigray.
If you want your donations to go the farthest, I recommend donating directly to people in need and local nonprofits. For the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I suggest Goma Actif
Goma Actif is a Congolese nonprofit that has boots on the ground in Goma, DRC, at the Kanyaruchinya displacement camp, providing food to people who have fled the latest offensive by the M23 rebel group.
The Congolese people have expressed frustration that international organizations are slow and fickle when it comes to distributing aid. Goma Actif functions entirely within DRCongo and therefore bypasses international red tape to deliver aid more reliably than external sources.
"the cost of convenience does not have to be human lives. we are literally conditioned to think that in order for us to have certain things someone has to suffer and that is the farthest thing from the truth."
@ Non-Palestinian allies, we, Palestinians, are the driving force behind our own liberation movement. being defeatist is insensitive and counterproductive to our movement, it’s imperative for you all to energize and amplify our voices, as comrades, who are leading the struggle
It makes a lot of us feel uncomfortable when non Palestinian allies express defeatist rhetoric to us when we are the ones experiencing this first hand and second hand, our emotions are already high, we cannot take defeatism from you all at all.
it is we, who have loved ones in Palestine facing bombardment, we who cannot wear our cultural attires in the West w/o fear of being killed. Your allyship must embrace the frameworks of our joint-struggle and collective resilience by providing us the emotional support we need.