Jul 12, 2012

Humanizing


It is abundantly clear that oppressors spend an inordinate amount of time and resources to dehumanize their victims. But we humans spend an inordinate amount of time also trying to suppress our own humanity.  To dehumanize someone is to deprive them of essential human qualities such as compassion, individuality, love, and social contact.  Making a family line up in the sun for hours to cross a checkpoint is a form of dehumanizing. It is dehumanizing to deny medical care, to destroy means of livelihood, to take someone's land, to put someone in solitary confinement in jail for months and years, or to tell someone that she is not of God's chosen peopel so she has lless rights.

Dehumanizing makes it easier for the colonizers to not feel compassion for their victims as they rob them of their lands and natural resources.  In so doing the occupiers thus also dehumanize themselves because they have to desensitize themselves to human suffering. But the victims themselves can also internalize the dehumanization to think of themselves as somehow unworthy or that their life can only gain meaning if they emulate their oppressors and thus become oppressors themselves.  That is why abused children may sometimes grow up to abuse their own children.  This spiral of dehumanizing can and must be challenged and the obvious way to do it is via our efforts to humanize ourselves and others: show compassion, mercy, love, and connectedness.  The styruggle is mostly inward and it is our own negativism that must be challenged every day, nay every hour. That is the humanizing struggle that is the hardest struggle of all.

Army To Arrest, Deport, Internationals Living In The West Bank

Action: Ask Clinton to Express Opposition to Legalization of Settlements

Action: Vote, like, share (buttons at bottom for facebook, twitter etc)
"They came in the morning" video was born from some of the footage shot over 5 critical years in the life of Bethlehem during the making of upcoming feature film "Operation Bethlehem".

Church of England backs Palestine motion in spite of strong Israel lobby pressure

In BDS milestone, UK supermarket chain to boycott Israel firms doing business with settlements

(important read) The Zionist-Nazi Collaboration by William James Martin, Dissident Voice.

The Ramallah Fiasco Should Never Happen Again

Pro-Divestment Presbyterians Win By Losing

Palestine National Council Registration Campaign

Mazin Qumsiyeh

3 comments:

  1. Hello Mazin,
    I read your article on PNN.
    How about Palestinian refugees and diaspora queueing to vote for people to represent their town/distict of origin?

    Maybe some of your blog readers could be interested in this initiative.

    The initiative supports Voter Registraton Cards for all refugees and diaspora, showing town and district of origin, e.g. Haifa, Acre, Jaffa.
    Also using Out of Country Voting (OCV), with international observers and recognition and also media reporting.

    http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Palestine-Unity-Elections-Refugees-Diaspora-West-Bank-and-Gaza/424217250931056

    Youtube video, in English:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peBuxeqPPXw

    Youtube in Arabic:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzsFJYVL9ws&feature=related

    and a new article on This Week In Palestine:
    http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=3744&ed=208&edid=208

    Could you suggest people I could talk to/contact with ideas for spreading
    the idea? Also to refugees in camps?
    I am working with a Palestinian, Basema Salman, based in Holland.
    This is a positive approach.
    Many thanks for any help.

    Kind regards,

    Hugo van Randwyck
    London
    hugo.vanrandwyck@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. "This spiral of dehumanizing can and must be challenged and the obvious way to do it is via our efforts to humanize ourselves and others: show compassion, mercy, love, and connectedness. The struggle is mostly inward and it is our own negativism that must be challenged every day, nay every hour. That is the humanizing struggle that is the hardest struggle of all."

    --

    this is where
    i languish
    agonize
    despair
    resign

    this is where
    i die

    when
    the only way
    to reach out
    no matter
    family
    friends
    community
    is with money
    in hand

    when money
    is oxygen
    water
    land
    food
    shelter
    love
    dignity
    health
    support
    refuge

    when money
    is life

    there is
    no humanity

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mazin, thank you for describing this very important element of the situation. This occupation is destroying the humanity of all involved, which is a very important point to highlight. I have heard that domestic abuse rates are rising in Israel as a result of mandatory military service - can you speak to this at all?

    Best,
    Tim Leisman

    ReplyDelete