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An Urgent Update & Request for Action

In a way this isn't an update, because what I am sharing is nothing new. And the urgency I feel and speak of also isn't new. But it continues to grow, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. 

So think of this as more of a reminder, an emphatic expression of urgency, of our required commitment, of our shared responsibility, and of reaffirming my own resolve to do more, say more, share more, in the hopes that the changes that are long overdue will come. And that they will come soon. 

The destruction and devastation in Gaza is unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life. And the images and videos and descriptions cannot compare to the physical experience of being there and trying to live through this, trying to survive among the ruins and the rubble, trying to breathe through the dust and the dirt, trying to find life amidst death and deprivation. Trying to keep going despite the overwhelming sense of abandonment sinking like a heavy cloud atop the harshness of the material conditions of the genocide. A dark and heavy cloud of abandonment, which also continues to thicken.

This week has been filled with messages from and conversations with people who returned to what had once been their neighborhoods only to discover there is nothing left of the streets, the buildings, the homes they once knew. No shelter, no water, no fuel, no food, no supplies, no support. Blown up ruins and bulldozed remains. Skeletons of animals and of people. Unrecognizable landscapes. Destroyed vegetation. The color grey and poisoned air. 

People have been searching through the rubble of their homes and buildings with their bare hands, trying to salvage anything when very little is salvageable. They collect the remains of loved ones, and build graves for those they mourn but have yet to find. They walk for miles to try and find the smallest amount of water, which if they are able to secure is still not enough to meet their needs, and is often of unclean quality. 

There is currently a water crisis in Gaza, a water crisis worse than any before, which is saying something because even when times were "better," there was still not enough water. But now it is a true crisis, a crisis in every sense of the word. And crisis might be even too soft a word. Crisis as a descriptor does not do  justice to the severity of the situation.  And there is also a fuel crisis, which exacerbates the water crisis, since what water there is needs to be transported by truck.

The cost of digging a single well is $3000, and families are trying to raise the funds for doing this themselves, while Gaza's Municipality is asking the international community for support which has yet to materialize. The promised aid is not coming through, and mutual aid crowdfunding donations have slowed considerably since the "ceasefire" began.

What food comes in must still be purchased. And Israel continues to block the entry of tents, shelters, portables, and caravans. In addition to being yet another violation of the terms of the "ceasefire agreement," the immorality, cruelty, and depravity of Israel, the United States, and any government that supports the continuation of these violations and injustices defies comprehension.  

I have spent these past three days answering messages from the families I regularly talk with, from the moment I wake up and until I try to sleep, trying to offer some support and answer questions, trying to be there for them emotionally, grateful to connect with them, happy to hear their voices. All the while I know that anything I can provide is not enough and is also far less than they deserve. I keep trying to send words of support, to let them know we have not forgotten them. 

But today I had a video call with one person I have grown very close to and he asked me, "Where is the world? Where is humanity?" And I did not have an answer. The urgency and despair is growing each day, and time is not something we can spare. Here are more of my friend's words:

"We live from the lack of death. No one knows how we live and the extent of the suffering we go through. Nobody feels us here. I am unable to buy diapers or milk for the baby and food for ourselves. We have no house to live in. What kind of life is this? Please, let people know about the water. If you try to convey the extent of the suffering, please convey these basic things. I am so tired of this life. We are exhausted." 

As I try to get more material support for the Palestinians in Gaza who I am personally committed to, I always ask for their permission to share their words and information before I share them with anyone myself. It is important to me that I amplify their voices whenever I try to use my own, and that I always do it respectfully and in a way that honors their wishes. When I spoke with another friend about this recently, this is what he shared: 

"Please go ahead and share everything I have shared with you. Make my voice heard; let people know how we are suffering, how we spend hours in line waiting for food and water. Tell them that we walk more than ten minutes in the middle of the night to reach the bathroom, only to stand in line for an hour to take our turn. Tell them our toes and noses turn blue at night from the cold that makes them numb. Tell them that parents stand speechless when their children ask for food...Let them know we are good people, but war has been hard on us—harder than enough. I have lost my home, my belongings, my relatives, my friends, my memories, and above all, my dreams." 

I share this here and now as one more way in one more place, in the hopes that it will lead to something, some sort of support for the people in Palestine who deserve so much more. Some kind of shift to change the conditions which have allowed what should have never been allowed to happen. Some sort of connection yet to be made. And I will keep looking for and finding more places to do this. And I hope you will too.

If you have been waiting to act, thinking you need to learn more, thinking you do not know what to do or where to start, feeling overwhelmed by everything, I beg you to please release those barriers which only hold you back, and which prevent you from doing something now. 

There is so much to be done. The world needs all of us. And if you are in a position to help materially, please do so now. This urgency cannot be overstated.

- February 2, 2025

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Below is a list of links to some mutual aid crowdfunding campaigns for people and groups I am personally committed to and have been trying to support. If you are also in a position to donate to any or all of these, I will be forever grateful. And I know for a fact your donation will have an impact. 

And if you would like to send funds to me to donate on your behalf, please email me at veganinbellingham@gmail.com.