What would you do if . . .

Mohammed Said Alnadi
Mondoweiss
Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:57 UTC

Someone had assailed your home, ethnically cleansed its people, annexed its land, exhausted its bounteous resources, and decimated its geographical characteristics?

Someone had denied you your inalienable right of defending your home and self, and mendaciously accused you of being "terrorist", justifying crimes and oppression by "self-defense"?

Someone, by using humiliation and most degrading ways, had gotten in your way when you are dying and desperately in need of medical treatment?

Someone had taken away your most beloved ones and incarcerated them in a non-human environment?

Someone has inflicted an impermeable blockade upon your people and land.

Someone has incredibly blocked the only crossings to your land, preventing food, medications, building materials, stationery and also life...?

Someone has built a massive wall on your land, splitting your family property into two pieces you can't see your family members on the other side of the wall, and if you are allowed to see them, you must take a day-long walk to a military checkpoint to cross, but most often, your ID card may be taken away from you and you are told to come next day, and when you are almost back, a soldier calls you to go back for ID, and again a new journey of one-day walk?

Someone has kept you waiting for long hours until your patient dies?

Someone has broken in your house after midnight, spreading terror among your children, before arresting some ones and forcing them away, and, of course all under the pretext of "security"?

Someone who is an excellent war criminal has allegedly said to you "let's talk peace", although the plate on the negotiation table is already empty?

Someone has desecrated your Holy Places by digging tunnels underneath and preventing people from practicing their freedom of worship, all in a tireless attempt to obliterate your unquestionable identity?

Someone has robbed your right to free movement due to an all-out siege?

Someone has controlled your access to the sea and driven you to risk your own life, where getting to be shot at is very likely, simply trying to make a hand-to-mouth living?

Someone has cut the electricity off your house, factory, shop, or, most importantly hospital, if you are dying and looking vacantly at the blank kidney-dialysis machine?

Someone has assailed your ears and scared you to death by the thundering sound of Apaches and F-16s which constantly canopy the earth?

Someone has kept his gun pointed to your head, and you have no idea when you will be shot?

Someone has banned a certain formula needed for your ill child, and then your baby dies in front of your eyes because you can't go out for proper medical attention?

Someone has mocked all norms of international law and flagrantly continued committing massacres and violating human rights against you and your civilian people?

Someone has coerced you to live in a technologically controlled prison without means of survival, and sentenced you to slow-motion genocide?

Note: Before you even think of any answer, just please put yourself in the shoes of one of these people living in such circumstances.

Mohammed Said AlNadi, 23, lives in Gaza and is an English literature graduate. He works as translator and freelance journalist.

Reader Comments

humanist · 2010-11-29T22:52:41Z

what would i do

is this a trick question?

i would escalate all efforts to remove above mentioned parasite from my homeland.
stopping at nothing to do so.

learning2 · 2010-11-30T06:47:48Z

Per 'The Constitution'

'...that I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC;...'

Insurgent? or, Citizen????

gdpetti · 2010-11-30T11:10:45Z

Do the basics first.

1. Know your enemy.
Given all the protests etc over the decades with little to no benefit, one does wonder if the Palestinians know their opponent at all.
2. Know your friends.
Given the lack of assistance over the decades, it would seem that the Palestinians really have no friends they can count on, while their enemy seems to have plenty in positions of power around the world. Why is that?
3. Know your goal.
What are you after? If you don't know what you are up against how can you combat it? What's that saying known to viewers of this site? 'Knowledge protects, ignorance endangers.'?

It would seem from simple observation that most of this combat is nonsensical if not a lie. Why is it that decades of rocket firing by Hamas has yet proven any ability to target them? Why can't they learn to hit a target? Isn't that odd? Perhaps, like everyone around the world, their 'leaders' aren't really serving them, but a different master? Ask yourself who can that be? And why do they all seem to work together as the WikiLeaks current show well demostrates?

If you keep turning the other cheek, the policies that punish you will never stop, much like a woman that is always drawn into a relationship with an abusive partner. Addiction to mental conditioning has to be stopped and that is only done with knowledge of WTF is going on and why.

What would you do if you learned the truth?