rhythms of resistance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVu9tCLwJk

So I went back to Um Salamouna.

I wanted to see the guys but they were all under cerfew.

Mohammed the 17 year old that was arrested with us was in his house and he invited me to eat chicken and onion with him (still finding it difficult explaining my concern for all sentient beings in arabic).

I met his grandmother, who's son, Mohammed's father, had been killed by the occupying forces, an activist with Fatah before Madrid peace talks (when Fatah became corrupt and started really selling out following the murder of many of their best political leaders in exile, including two in Indonesia)

His Grandmother was the woman that the soldiers took and started beating when she crossed the barbed wire the day that I was arrested, it was because of this that Mohammed stepped in to save his mother and was himself arrested, it took 4/5 soldiers to take him down. Then, after people had watched this the sound bombs and tier gas went off etc. The story was filled in for me piece by piece...









Resistance is a strange thing. It's such a shame that we need it, such a shame that people can't respect each other and are not considerate truthful or loving enough to resolve conflict before it gets physical. But it is physical, on many many corners of the earth, and we need to accept that addressing physical conflict is a difficult thing to do, very difficult.

So when I see resistance that is compassionate, that refuses to give in to anger, that does no harm, that changes peoples lives in an incredibly positive way, brings together communities, uses music and dance and doesn't forget to celebrate life - I can't help but be overwhelmed by pride for the human race, for our ability to fight violence with loving action, not to succumb to harming others, but instead trying to show them a truth that they are doggedly trying to ignore, trying to show them that they in fact are hurting themselves by hurting these people, that it doesn't have to be this way.

This is non-violence. This is mostly selfless dedicated action to bringing about a better world, a peaceful world. But for some reason people have bought the line of many people in power, that it is just causing a fuss and disturbing the peace - this cannot be farther from the truth. Non-violent resistance aims to expose the structural conflict and violence that is being experienced every day, and to address it in the most peaceful way possible. It might be pushing those in power to give up some of their power and give it back to the people, it might be asking for fairer distribution of resources, it might be asking for many things at the expense of strong self interests, but I don't see that as a bad thing. The interests need to be held in common, things need to be shared, and just as you would take back from a child a stash of sweets that he stole from his friends and redistribute them, teaching him to share, so would you wish for the wider world no? Where people have earned things, it is up to them, but when people are stealing and using violence so continue the process then you want change, you want peace, you want harmony.

Social justice is a beautiful thing and I think that it helps us to recognise each other as more similar, to recognise the truth - that we are all pretty much the same, we all have something to contribute, and life is much more suited to working together than against each other.

What's the best way of pushing this forward? I still have absolutely no idea, but I do know that political participation, especially championing the cause of the Whole and not the self or the tribe, is a pretty sound step forward, and can prevent a lot of the worst manifestations of cruelty, and has contributed to monumental positive change in people's lives over the last 100 years at least.

I like what a Kerelan novelist says about this: "not only is another world possible, but on a quiet day you can hear her breathing"

here's another video done on the same day... Instead of drums they used prayer, very different result.
Gotta love Israeli democracy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UbhZvsvRgk


Mohammed's trial is on Tuesday and I'm going to give my support. It will be strange to actually sit through a military court proceedure that's being put upon someone that was charged at the same time in the same place with the same things as myself. Feels wrong.

Got my vaccinations for Bangladesh and Zim today and now have a nifty little WHO card.

Only a week left and I still haven't published any of the posts that I said I would!

My my how time flies.