Palestinian poetry, part 2

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Running Orders
By Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

They call us now,
before they drop the bombs.
The phone rings
and someone who knows my first name
calls and says in perfect Arabic
“This is David.”
And in my stupor of sonic booms and glass-shattering symphonies
still smashing around in my head
I think, Do I know any Davids in Gaza?
They call us now to say
Run.
You have 58 seconds from the end of this message.
Your house is next.
They think of it as some kind of
war-time courtesy.
It doesn’t matter that
there is nowhere to run to.
It means nothing that the borders are closed
and your papers are worthless
and mark you only for a life sentence
in this prison by the sea
and the alleyways are narrow
and there are more human lives
packed one against the other
more than any other place on earth
Just run.
We aren’t trying to kill you.
It doesn’t matter that
you can’t call us back to tell us
the people we claim to want aren’t in your house
that there’s no one here
except you and your children
who were cheering for Argentina
sharing the last loaf of bread for this week
counting candles left in case the power goes out.
It doesn’t matter that you have children.
You live in the wrong place
and now is your chance to run
to nowhere.
It doesn’t matter
that 58 seconds isn’t long enough
to find your wedding album
or your son’s favorite blanket
or your daughter’s almost completed college application
or your shoes
or to gather everyone in the house.
It doesn’t matter what you had planned.
It doesn’t matter who you are.
Prove you’re human.
Prove you stand on two legs.
Run.
Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, “Running Orders” from Water & Salt.  Copyright © 2017 by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. 
___________________________________________________________

Blood
By Naomi Shihab Nye

“A true Arab knows how to catch a fly in his hands,”
my father would say. And he’d prove it,
cupping the buzzer instantly
while the host with the swatter stared.
In the spring our palms peeled like snakes.
True Arabs believed watermelon could heal fifty ways.
I changed these to fit the occasion.
Years before, a girl knocked,
wanted to see the Arab.
I said we didn’t have one.
After that, my father told me who he was,
“Shihab”—“shooting star”—
a good name, borrowed from the sky.
Once I said, “When we die, we give it back?”
He said that’s what a true Arab would say.
Today the headlines clot in my blood.
A little Palestinian dangles a truck on the front page.
Homeless fig, this tragedy with a terrible root
is too big for us. What flag can we wave?
I wave the flag of stone and seed,
table mat stitched in blue.
I call my father, we talk around the news.
It is too much for him,
neither of his two languages can reach it.
I drive into the country to find sheep, cows,
to plead with the air:
Who calls anyone civilized?
Where can the crying heart graze?
What does a true Arab do now?
Naomi Shihab Nye, “Blood” from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (Portland, Oregon: Far Corner Books, 1995). Copyright © 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Climate Movement Monday: Connecting the dots

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Welcome back to another Movement Monday in which we discuss all things climate. Typically, I focus on a frontline community most directly affected by the ravages of climate change and then offer an action we can take on their behalf. But today this post will be dedicated to offering information that helps connect the dots between climate activism, police response, and anti-protest legislation.

I’ve written in the past about the Weelaunee Forest and the Atlanta citizens’ efforts to stop the $90 million militarized police training center (known as Cop City) from being built there. THIS post will get you up to speed and THIS post provided an update on the Georgia Attorney General filing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) and “domestic terrorism” charges against 61 people involved in the efforts to Stop Cop City. Reminder: RICO was implemented in the 70s to go after organized crime.

Okay, so why am I writing about Cop City today? Because after the people of Atlanta testified over and over again in opposition to Cop City but were ignored by the mayor and city council, they took the “civic” route and gathered 116,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot so that people could vote YES or NO to Cop City. Well, the powers-that-be threw up legal challenges and successfully kept the referendum off the ballot last week. There’s a chance it’ll be on the March 2024 ballot, but in the meanwhile, people gathered this morning at Weelaunee Forest today to defend the forest. And who was there to greet them? Heavily militarized police with armored vehicles, riot gear, projectiles, and tear gas.

Yes, that dog is wearing goggles. Why? Because . . . tear gas.

Note: images from X/Twitter

So, here are some dots in need of connecting:

DOT: We’ve got local citizens who followed the process and showed up by the hundreds to testify against a militarized police training center, only to be ignored. Those citizens then went the referendum route, gathering 116,000 signatures in a very short time, only to be sabotaged in those efforts. Now, they show up in person to defend the largest green space in the city from being clear-cut, and they’re gassed by the police.

DOT: Those same police want the training center built so that they can learn from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Yes, the very same IDF currently maiming and killing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (with a dose of harassment/imprisonment for any Jewish person who dares to speak out against them). As stated by the American Friends Service Committee: Cop City will allow police not just from Atlanta, but globally, to learn repressive tactics, so that protests and rebellions can be easily crushed. According to the original proposal, 43% of the training at Cop City will be for officers outside of Atlanta, including military training with the infamous Israeli Defense Forces.  

DOT: All around the globe, we’re watching our climate in collapse. Wildfires, floods, polluted air and water, droughts, hurricanes, etc. While we’re facing an existential threat, those in power are busy squeezing out the last dollars they can get from fossil fuel extraction despite climate scientists saying NO NEW FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS.

DOT: As the climate worsens and our very survival is threatened, more and more people will take to the streets in order to force action from the powerful elite. After the murder of George Floyd, MANY people protested and marched, which gave the elites a glimpse of what’s to come. So how are they reacting? Putting more and more money into police budgets. Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” (also known as the “Covid-19 Stimulus Package”) put $10 billion into police departments.

DOT: There’s a growing push to criminalize protest here in the U.S. and around the world. Fossil fuel companies in the U.S. have contributed more than $5 million to state anti-protest bill sponsors (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 5). For example: “North Carolina’s enacted law (S 58) is particularly extreme. It carries felony penalties with up to 19 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for attempting to “obstruct, impede, or impair the services of transmissions of an energy facility.” Under the new law, trespassing on energy facilities is also classified as a felony with up to two years in prison. The bill was primarily sponsored by Sen. Paul Newton, who worked at Duke Energy for 25 years and was the company’s state president.” (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 54)

Fossil fuel companies also use strategic lawsuits against public participation (otherwise known as SLAPP) to intimidate and prevent protest (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 6). “As a result of criminalization and judicial harassment (such as SLAPPs), individuals can be saddled with legal fees, prevented from earning a stable living, socially stigmatized, and displaced. Organizations can be bankrupted, ruptured, or forcibly dissolved. Criminalization and judicial harassment also threaten to chill free speech and dissent.” (Dollars vs Democracy, p 55)

There are more dots to connect (notably white supremacy and imperialism), but I hope this basic overview helps point out what we’re facing. The powerful are systematically trying to separate we-the-people from the issues in desperate need of sustainable solutions, and the police will play a huge role in the ensuing struggle. Which is why after my run today, I put on my STOP COP CITY shirt in solidarity with the Atlanta Forest Defenders and wrote this post.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you very much and welcome any and all thoughts on this. In the meanwhile, even though I said I wouldn’t ask for an action, I do want to include the Stop Cop City Solidarity site that includes actions we can take plus links to where we can donate to the legal fund for those facing RICO and terrorism charges AND a fund for the family of Tortuguita (who was murdered by police while they defended the forest).

Please take good care of yourself in these hard, hard days. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Let’s talk about “from the river to the sea”

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Yesterday,  I read and commented on a blog I’ve followed and interacted with for years. The poster is Jewish and wrote about, among other things, their fear at the way people on social media and college campuses are voicing solidarity with Palestinian people. There was much in the blog post that made me shake my head, but my comment focused on what is meant when we say “from the river to the sea.” Here’s what I wrote:

If I may, [name redacted], “from the river to the sea” does not call for the eradication of Jewish people. Rather, it is a call for Palestinian people who are now living under apartheid to live with the equality, freedom, and dignity accorded others. It is a call for Palestinians to have free movement from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. I don’t believe anyone should feel threated by the liberation of an oppressed people. 

A protester holds a placard reading ‘From the river to the sea, we demand equality’, during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians, in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 4 2023.      Clemens Bilan

They pushed back on my comment which started all sorts of thoughts swirling in my head, but because I didn’t want to step further into their space to examine this issue, I’m putting those thoughts here.

I kept waking last night, my thoughts immediately on the reactions to those six words–from the river to the sea–and how it’s deeply racist and Islamophobic to believe that freeing Palestinians from apartheid would result in the slaughter of Jewish people. Also, I couldn’t stop thinking about how those six words are being used to silence opposition to this genocide happening before our very eyes. When I woke, I found an eloquent piece on this very issue written in 2018  by an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies  at the University of Arizona.  Dismissing or ignoring what this phrase means to the Palestinians is yet another means by which to silence Palestinian perspectives. Citing only Hamas leaders’ use of the phrase, while disregarding the liberationist context in which other Palestinians understand it, shows a disturbing level of ignorance about Palestinians’ views at best, and a deliberate attempt to smear their legitimate aspirations at worst. You may read the entire piece HERE.

As I struggled to fall back asleep, I also couldn’t stop thinking about the 13 year-old boy in southern California who last week was suspended for three days for saying “Free Palestine” after another kid called him a terrorist. As you can see HERE, the principal’s reason for suspension: “Said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said, ‘Free Palestine.'” Suspending a child for voicing support for the liberation of an oppressed population?! This suppression of free speech isn’t only happening in the U.S. An Israeli high school teacher was assaulted and arrested by the IDF after making a Facebook post sympathetic to dead Palestinian civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials who brazenly announce their intent to commit genocide in Gaza are given platforms to spew their genocidal rhetoric AND continue to receive the unwavering support of the U.S. government despite the majority of voters supporting a ceasefire.

I don’t know about you, but I find the specific violence of those words much more alarming than calls for “from the river to the sea.”

How are they allowed to come right out and state their murderous intent? For one, there’s a full-blown propaganda and normalization effort happening. “Embedded journalists” from the U.S. must allow the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to okay their materials. CNN interviewed Netanyahu today as if he’s just some regular guy rather than a far-right, genocidal maniac. If you’re watching mainstream media, you’re getting a very slanted take on what’s happening. For instance, they don’t want you knowing that millions upon millions of people around the globe have been and continue to march in solidarity with Palestine (see ceasfiretoday.com for the huge list of protests around the world). Also? Israel is targeting journalists.

Per the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of November 12:

  • 40 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 35 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.
  • 8 journalists were reported injured.
  • 3 journalists were reported missing.
  • 13 journalists were reported arrested.
  • Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.

But the real threat here is people chanting “from the river to the sea”????

There’s so much more to say about all this, so many horrifying aspects: Fascism. Settler colonialism. Another Nakba. Bombing refugee camps. Bombing hospitals. Shooting people in ICU. Bombing solar panels off a hospital roof. Dead infants as a result of no electricity. White phosphorous melting skin to bone. Targeting UN workers. Deliberately withholding food, water, electricity, and fuel. Bodies decaying in the rubble. 900+ entire Palestinian families killed. Doctors Without Borders’ new acronym: WCNSF which stands for Wounded Child No Surviving Family.

From the BBC: “Most of the children in my family photo are dead”

To be honest, this whole endeavor has been overwhelming and I’m going to stop here. If you’ve read this far, thank you thank you thank you. And please remember: the college students and the rest of us protesting our government for funding and enabling this genocide are NOT the problem.

Until we are all free, none of us are free. 

Palestinian poetry

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

In order for me to write poetry that isn’t political
I must listen to the birds
and in order to hear the birds
the warplanes must be silent.
 – Marwan Makhoul, Palestinian Poet

Image by Amy Spielmaker from Pixabay

(The following note and poem by Mosab Abu Toha were published in The Atlantic on November 9, 2023):

I wrote this poem last year, reflecting on my childhood under Israeli military occupation. I’m now staying in Jabalia, a United Nations refugee camp, with my wife and three kids. I’m reading this poem to myself and wondering if my children will be able to write poems about the bombs and explosions they are seeing. I was 8 the first time I witnessed a rocket. Now my youngest child, born in America in May 2021, is living through the third wave of Israeli bombing. Not only are he and his older brother and sister smelling death around them; but they have also lost their house in Beit Lahia 10 days ago. Luckily no one was at home. My son Yazzan, who is 8 years old, asks me, “Are our toys still alive?”

YOUNGER THAN WAR
Tanks roll through dust, through eggplant fields.
Beds unmade, lightening in the sky, brother
jumps to the window to watch warplanes
flying through clouds of smoke
after air strikes. Warplanes that look like eagles
searching for a tree branch to perch on,
catch breath, but these metal eagles
are catching souls in a blood/bone soup bowl.
No need for radio.
We are the news.
Ants’ ears hurt with each bullet
fired from wrathful machine guns.
Soldiers advance, burn books, some smoke
rolled sheets of yesterday’s newspaper, just like they did
when they were kids. Our kids
hide in the basement, backs against concrete pillars,
heads between knees, parents silent.
Humid down there, and heat of burning bombs
adds up to the slow death
of survival.
In September 2000, after I had bought bread for dinner,
I saw a helicopter firing a rocket
into a tower as far from me as my frightful cries
when I heard concrete and glass fall from high.
Loaves of bread went stale.
I was still 7 at the time.
I was decades younger than war,
a few years older than bombs.

Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet, short story writer, and essayist from Gaza. His collection Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won a Derek Walcott Poetry Prize and an American Book Award.

From the Sky
by Sara Abou Rashed

After Lorca

When I die,
bury me in the sky—
no one is fighting over it.

Children are playing soccer
with empty bomb shells
(from the sky I can see them).
A grandmother is baking
her Eid makroota and mamoul
(from the sky I can taste them).
Teens are writing love letters
under an orange tree
(from the sky I can read them).
Soldiers are cocking new rifles
at the checkpoint
(from the sky I can hear them).
Under fire, death and water
are brewing in the kitchen
(from the sky I can smell them!).
When I die, bury me in the sky,
I said, for now, it is quiet—
no one owns it and no one is claiming to.

These dark days of autumn

/ Tracy Abell

My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be;
she loves the bare, the withered tree;
she walks the sodden pasture lane.
 ~ Robert Frost

Park View Trail, Trinidad State Park 10.10.23

Tuesday triumphs

/ Tracy Abell / 1 Comment

I went to bed last night vowing to accomplish two things today:

  • go for a run and
  • give Emma a bath.

Well, I did indeed run around the neighborhood for 2.5 miles and a few minutes ago I finished bathing the very stinky, greasy little Emma (which comes from the constant petting she receives as a result of her constant snuggling).

Here’s a picture taken right after I caught her squirming-wiggling-rolling around on her back while kicking her feet in the air. Her tail is blurred because it was wagging vigorously.

Emma doesn’t particularly like baths, BUT she loves that first hour after a bath. Have to say, I also love her post-bath energy.

My accomplishments didn’t end with the run and doggie bath, though. I also made a sign for our front yard.

This is the same spot where we kept an Iraq death toll sign for years and years. You can still see the chain we used to prevent another theft after having two signs stolen. We’d put it out in the morning and take it in at dusk. And now here we are again. Sure would be nice if our government focused on supporting a just and equitable society in which our basic needs were met rather than investing billions in the military industrial complex and genocide.

The sign will remain until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza. And I’ll keep running to maintain my emotional, mental, and physical health AND continue snuggling with our sweet Emma Jean-Jean.

Climate Movement Mondays: just say NO to more LNG terminals

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate, often with a focus on a frontline community enduring the worst effects of the climate crisis. Today’s post focuses on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and a looming decision by the Department of Energy that will most directly affect those living in the Gulf region, but will have ramifications for everyone on the planet.

Environmental justice champion Roishetta Ozane with the Westlake Chemical plant behind her home. They’re already enduring so much and do not want LNG terminals!

This information about the possibility of 20 new LNG terminals in the Gulf comes via Third Act and rather than try to reinvent the wheel, I’m going to copy the full email I received from Third Act founder, Bill McKibben. Spoiler alert: you’ll be asked to handwrite a short letter and I’ve included mine as a sample.

Dear Friends,

As this hottest year in human history winds towards its close, I’m writing to ask for your help with what may be the single biggest climate fight left on planet Earth. And it’s right here at home.

The US is planning to quadruple the export of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Gulf of Mexico over the next few years—there are plans for 20 huge export terminals to add to the seven that already exist. If they are built, the emissions associated with them will be as large as all the emissions from every home, factory, and car in the EU. The emissions associated with them will wipe out every bit of progress the U.S. has made on reducing carbon and methane since 2005.

And along the way it will hurt not only the people who have to live and breathe near these monstrosities, but also all American consumers—because exporting gas abroad drives up the price at home.

If you want a short primer, here is something I wrote this week, and another piece I wrote for the New Yorker.

Happily, we have a realistic chance at stopping this. Which is why I hope you’ll break out your stationery box and roll of stamps. The final decision will be made by the Department of Energy, which can grant or deny export licenses to these companies depending on whether they’re in the public interest.

Please please please write a letter this week to:

The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave. SW
Washington DC 20585

Here are some key points you can include in your letter:

  1. These plants are carbon and methane bombs. In the hottest year of human history it’s obscene to be putting up more of them.
  2. We’re already the biggest gas exporter on earth, and have more than enough capacity to meet the needs of the Europeans in the wake of the Ukrainian war.
  3. When we export all this gas, we drive up the price for those Americans who still rely on it for cooking and heating. Rejecting this project will fight inflation, which will help get the president re-elected.
  4. It’s an environmental justice travesty—as usual, these projects are set for poor communities of color.
  5. They’re planned for smack in the middle of the worst hurricane belt in the hemisphere.
  6. So rewrite the criteria (they’re currently using a Trump-era formula) for figuring out if such plans are in the national interest.

If you thought you were getting off without one high-tech task, though, you’re wrong. Could you also take a picture of the letter on your smartphone and email it to takingaction@thirdact.org, so we can keep track of what’s happening.

Remember, the penmanship you learned long ago is a secret weapon. Bureaucrats are used to getting email petitions; they’re not used to getting old-school letters. They know it takes effort, and they pay attention.

I think we can win this fight, and if we do it will be the biggest win on the climate front since we sunk the Keystone pipeline. But we can only do it if we act right now.

Thank you,

Bill McKibben
Founder, Third Act

P.S. As I was writing this, the first snow of the season started to fall in Vermont. That’s got to be a good sign!

In case you’re feeling stuck or intimidated about writing a letter, please check out my letter. What matters most is writing from your experience and including your concerns. My letter is probably longer than necessary, so please feel free to only write one short paragraph. As Bill says, just the fact that we’re taking the time to handwrite and mail a letter shows a big commitment that’s much harder to ignore.

Please holler if you have any questions. Also, I’d love to hear the focus of your letter so feel free to share in the comments. As always, thank you for reading this far.

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Denver in solidarity with Palestine

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Today, Zippy and I attended the Denver rally and march in solidarity with Palestine. We masked up and rode the light rail and then a bus to the capitol building at Colfax and Broadway. Here’s the sign I hung around my neck via a shoelace to keep my hands free and to reduce the neck and shoulder pain I suffer when holding up a sign for hours.

The speakers were varied but all shared their appreciation for the millions and millions of people around the globe who understand what is happening in apartheid Israel and who stand in solidarity with the occupied Palestinian people. I wept as I listened, feeling an incredible connection to both the oppressed and those fighting for them. And then it was time to line up for the march. I stood to one side as people came down off the capitol lawn to the street, and offered N95 masks. I started with a bag of fifty and came home with only three, which was very gratifying (as was the sight of the many who were already masked).

I haven’t seen any official estimates of attendance, but there were thousands of people there. I took this photo upon arrival and by the time the march began, lots more people had joined us. I’d say this crowd at least doubled, if not tripled in size.

I usually take a camera to rallies and marches, but today only had my phone. But I was still able to capture some signs I especially appreciated.

   

 

 

 

 

 

This one resonated because of the number of imprisoned Palestinians. From Aljazeera: Since 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it has arrested an estimated one million Palestinians, the United Nations reported last summer. One in every five Palestinians has been arrested and charged under the 1,600 military orders that control every aspect of the lives of Palestinians living under the Israeli military occupation. That incarceration rate doubles for Palestinian men — two in every five have been arrested.

I was unable to get photos of two other signs I appreciated, but here are the words:

IT IS NOT A WAR IF ONLY ONE SIDE HAS AN ARMY

IT IS NOT A CONFLICT IF ONE SIDE HAS THE GUNS & THE OTHER SIDE IS PRAYING

And finally, this sign:

Again, there’s a handy-dandy one-stop site with info on contacting your congressional representatives to demand a ceasefire AND to find a protest near you because it’s never too late to speak up: ceasefiretoday.com

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Thankful Thursday: moral courage

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Today I am thankful for the many, many people lending their voices to the chorus for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Protesters raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, in Washington October 31, 2023 © SAUL LOEB / AFP

  • Several days ago, a top UN official who’d worked on human rights issues for 30+ years resigned in protest of the ongoing genocide and the UN & West’s complicity in Israel’s abuses. You can read Craig Mokhiber’s full letter HERE, including this excerpt: ” . . . western corporate media, increasingly captured and state-adjacent, are in open breach of Article 20 of the ICCPR, continuously dehumanizing Palestinians to facilitate the genocide, and broadcasting propaganda for war and advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence. US-based social media companies are suppressing the voices of human rights defenders while amplifying pro-Israel propaganda. Israel lobby online-trolls and GONGOS are harassing and smearing human rights defenders, and western universities and employers are collaborating with them to punish those who dare to speak out against the atrocities.”
  • Incredibly brave American Jews and allies are protesting and demonstrating in various parts of the U.S. as I write this. In Durham, North Carolina, they’re blocking the highway to demand a CeasefireNOW. They’ve taken over the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. In Boston, dozens of faith leaders are protesting in the JFK Building.
  • Ultra-Orthodox Jews are speaking out in solidarity with Palestinians and disavowing Zionism, putting themselves in harm’s way. I don’t want to link to those upsetting videos, but invite you to see video from a New York protest HERE.
  • African American writer Ta-Nehisi Coates went on Democracy Now! to speak about his visit to Palestine and the connections he saw between Jim Crow/ segregation and the apartheid in Israel. You can watch that interview and/or read the transcript HERE

Demonstrations and marches continue around the world. Go HERE for the list that’s updated daily. Ceasefiretoday.com includes that link plus ALL the tools needed to make our voices heard.

Nothing but gratitude for those refusing to remain silent!

Finding our shared humanity: LIGHT IN GAZA

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

I’m taking advantage of the many resources on offer right now to help people such as myself become more educated on the Palestinian experience and the history of Palestine. As mentioned earlier, Haymarket Books has made three Palestine-related ebooks free to download.

One of those books, Light In Gaza: Writings Born of Fire is an anthology of Palestinian writers and artists sharing their lived experiences. Reading about daily life in Gaza helps me better understand their lives while also broadening my perspective.

“Let Me Dream” by Israa Mohammed Jamal begins with an exchange with her third-grade daughter as they worked on a school lesson together about tourist sites in northern Palestine. The daughter exclaims, “What beautiful places we have in our country. Let’s go there, Mama! Please!” The mother/author had never been to any of those places, either, and has to explain to her daughter that because Israel occupies the West Bank and blockades Gaza, they cannot go to those tourist attractions.

As someone who heavily relies on nature to maintain my emotional and mental health, I can barely imagine a life in which I was prevented from not only traveling freely, but seeking out the calming influence of the natural world. My body literally constricts at the thought.  The author’s essay moves from that exchange with her young daughter to some of her childhood and adult experiences, such as various family members leaving Gaza and the ensuing loneliness that enveloped her. She also writes of the party plans for her firstborn daughter’s first birthday in 2009 made in defiance of the fact that Israel was bombing Gaza then, plans that had to be abandoned when the bombs targeted their neighborhood, forcing them to flee to a relative’s house where they watched the news on their mobile phones because the electricity had been cut.

The essay ends with the author’s dreams for her children, including this excerpt:
I wish to witness the miracle of the liberation of all our occupied lands. Then, I can go to our home villages with our children so they can feel where they originate and belong and feel ownership of their homeland. I hope to erase “refugee” from their vocabulary, because this word is full of disappointment and weakness. They will go to every place in our country. They will see the beautiful places on the West Bank, without fear from armed soldiers, and will have peace of mind without being restricted in their movements inside and outside our ancestral land. They will discover those places by themselves and will live the adventure of traveling to new places such as cities and forests. Gaza doesn’t have mountains or forests, so we have never gone on safari and enjoyed the glory of nature.

Everyone on this glorious planet should have access to nature. Everyone deserves freedom of movement and, after reading “Let Me Dream,” I’m more grateful than ever for the ability to come and go as I please.

But the truth is, none of us are truly free while others are oppressed.

Climate Movement Monday: carbon capture & storage

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Climate Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. Today I want to share info regarding carbon capture and storage which is touted as a viable “solution” to climate catastrophe. But before I get into that, I want to state that Israel’s current “collective punishment” bombing campaign against the Palestinian people is not only an act of genocide, but also an attack on a frontline community already enduring massive drought as a result the climate crisis. Per Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network Coordinator, Abeer Butmeh: “We will see these effects on soil, water, marine habitat, air and, most importantly, on human health. Currently, Israel has cut off the water resources in Gaza and Gaza has run out of drinkable water. Palestinians live under two threats: Israeli occupation and climate change.”

PLEASE continue to call and email Biden plus your two Senators and one Representative, demanding a CeasefireNOW if you object to your tax dollars funding a genocide.

This post is about educating ourselves on carbon capture and storage (CCS) which I don’t know much about but keeps showing up for me lately. For instance, I just learned there was a proposed $3.5 billion, 1,300-mile CO2 pipeline to transport[ing] CO2 from ethanol and fertilizer plants to be sequestered underground in Illinois.” The project was named Heartland Greenway and would span “parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Grassroots opposition to these projects has been intense, with farmers, landowners and environmentalists raising questions about their feasibility and safety.”  Last week, Navigator CO2 Ventures announced it was cancelling the project due to regulatory processes in South Dakota and Iowa. I’d venture a guess that opposition from those groups made it more difficult to continue. Here’s a press release from Food & Water Watch regarding the cancellation: “While the federal government keeps trying to waste billions of dollars to promote these massive carbon pipelines, grassroots organizing is winning the fight to stop these egregious handouts to corporate polluters. These carbon pipelines will not reduce emissions – they are dangerous, wasteful schemes to prolong and expand polluting industries. Instead of throwing away money supporting polluters, the government should invest in proven clean energy solutions, not carbon capture pipe dreams.”

I also learned there’s an organization called PipelineFighters.org and they have a map showing proposed pipelines around the country. Go HERE for an interactive map.

If you’re interested in learning about CCS, Yale Climate Connections published an article by Cameron Oglesby earlier this month: “What’s the deal with carbon capture and storage?” It’s lengthy, but well worth the read. The one issue that jumps out at me is that CCS requires a lot of water, so it seems incredibly unwise to pin hopes on a process that will further deplete our already scarce groundwater.

Thank you for reading this far. I know there’s lot of info out there on CCS so if you come across other articles and perspectives, please share in the comments. Also, if you take a look at that Pipeline Fighters map and see a proposed project in your state, I’d love to hear your thoughts on that. In the meanwhile, take care. Solidarity! ✊🏽

I refuse to be desensitized

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

It’s another Monday which, in the past, meant a Climate Movement Monday post about a frontline community suffering the worst effects of climate change plus a suggested action or two to take on their behalf. I’ve got nothing to offer.

Confession: I can’t stop thinking about Palestinian people and have spent much of today in tears. Over 5,000 Palestinians dead since October 7, including 2,000 children. That equals 128 dead children per day. This is genocide and the U.S. government is sponsoring it. The military industrial complex is getting richer off the slaughter of Palestinians and my two Senators and one Representative can’t be swayed to step down from their “I stand with Israel ” stances. Nonetheless, I continue to call them daily to demand a ceasefire and today felt a slight shift in the tones of the two staffers who took my calls (I left a voicemail for the other). One said that all calls received at that office were demanding a ceasefire. The other was someone I’ve spoken with multiple times, someone who has exhibited clear disdain for my position, but who today listened to me speak through my tears and then sincerely thanked me for calling. It’s not much, but I’m clinging to those shifts in tone.

PLEASE call your representatives to demand a #CeaseFireNOW.
U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Millions of people around the globe have taken to the streets demanding a #CeasefireNOW!

Boston march for Palestine this past weekend. (found on Twitter along with this video of the march)

This is reminiscent of the millions of us taking to the streets in 2003 to demand the U.S. not invade Iraq. We were ignored then and know how that turned out. And same as twenty years ago, Islamophobia is now on the rise due to those fanning the flames. In case you missed it, a six year-old Palestinian-American boy (Wadea Al-Fayoume) in Chicago was fatally stabbed 26 times by his landlord who also stabbed the boy’s mother a dozen times. She survived and was released from the hospital today.

What is the point of me sharing all this? I cannot remain silent during an ongoing genocide because silence normalizes the policy. Just as I refuse to “return to normal” during the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic, I refuse to look the other way while an occupied people are being bombed out of existence. One of the most important acts of resistance is the refusal to be desensitized to the suffering of others.

It would make me very happy to engage with people here on what’s happening, so please let me know how you’re doing and whether you’ve made headway with your representatives or attended a march. Basically, any and all comments are welcome!

In the meanwhile . . . solidarity! ✊🏽

Twofer Tuesday: American Robins

/ Tracy Abell

These are very hard days on the planet and  so I’d like to offer these photos I took while camping last week. American Robins are quite commonplace and have a distinctive, easy-to-identify profile. Here’s one of the many I spotted in the forest surrounding Trinidad Lake:

What I hadn’t previously experienced with robins was them flying like missiles through the forest. As I stood there with my camera and big lens mounted on the monopod while listening to the many birds hidden in the trees, robins flew past just inches from me, wings literally whistling. It was wild! And at one point, about thirty of them flew out from the trees, coming from all directions, to fly across the lake. I was too stunned to even try to photograph that flock. Here’s one that generously posed:

It was a lovely morning in those final hours before we packed up to start the drive home. Even though I’m far removed from that setting, looking at these photos brings me peace once again. I hope these lovely robins do the same for you.

Solidarity with the people of Gaza

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Once again, I’m pivoting from my usual Climate Movement Monday posts because of the ongoing and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza (although, technically speaking, it’s important to remember that militaries use vast amounts of fossil fuels and greatly accelerate global warming) in order to offer some resources in the face of the U.S.-supported genocide of the Palestinian people.

Al-Rimal, a neighborhood in the heart of Gaza City, has been repeatedly targeted by Israel over recent days. Atia Darwish APA images

More than 1,000 Palestinian children have been killed since October 7 which equals one child killed every 15 minutes by Israeli forces. As I write this, American Jews and allies of IfNotNow.org and Jewish Voice for Peace are blocking all entrances to the White House as they demand a ceasefire now.

Those folks in D.C. are incredibly courageous and, in solidarity with them, here are some actions we can all take at home:

Make phone calls/send emails via the Stop Gaza Genocide Action Toolkit
(Click HERE to access the Jewish Voice for Peace link which makes it VERY easy to call your 2 Senators & 1 Rep . . . and we can call over and over!)
** a Ceasefire NOW resolution has just been introduced in the House so please ask your reps to sign on to this resolution!** (If your member of Congress is Cori Bush, Andre Carson, Summer Lee, Delia Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Jonathan Jackson, Chuy Garcia, Nydia Velazquez, or Bonnie Watson-Coleman — then please call to thank them!)

Donate to humanitarian aid organizations:

Educate yourself
Click HERE to access three free Haymarket Books ebooks about Palestine
Click HERE to read “Gaza Is a Prison Under Siege. This Is My Letter to the World Outside.” by Ahmed Abu Artema, a founder of the Great March of Return
Click HERE to read “Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine” written/published by Peter Beinart in 2020

These are incredibly difficult days and it’s easy to be overcome by grief and exhaustion. Please, if you can, find opportunities to experience joy each day. I spent a chunk of time this morning watching a squirrel sitting on the deck railing as it devoured a sunflower seed-head, and it felt very good to laugh.

Thank you for reading and taking action on behalf of an oppressed people. Until next time, Solidarity! ✊🏽

Deprogramming ourselves

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Today I’m deviating from my usual Climate Movement Monday post to offer some info regarding what’s happening now between Palestine and Israel. We in the United States, whose government gives Israel’s military $3.8 billion per year, have been fed a narrative about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We have been programmed to believe it’s a complex situation rather than clear-cut apartheid akin to South Africa. It can be intimidating to speak out on behalf of Palestinians because of the knee-jerk charges of anti-semitism, but the morality of the situation demands we do just that.

A boy waves a Palestinian flag, at the Israel-Gaza border, during clashes with Israeli troops, at a protest where Palestinians demand the right to return to their homeland, east of Gaza City, April 1, 2018.
(Reuters /Mohammed Salem)

I encourage you to read this October 7 piece from Haggai Matar “Gaza’s shock attack has terrified Israelis. It should also unveil the context. The dread Israelis are feeling after today’s assault, myself included, has been the daily experience of millions of Palestinians for far too long.”

Here’s an excerpt: “In Gaza, meanwhile, the ongoing siege is continuously destroying the lives of over two million Palestinians, many of whom are living in extreme poverty, with little access to clean water and about four hours of electricity a day. This siege has no official endgame; even an Israeli State Comptroller report found that the government has never discussed long-term solutions to ending the blockade, nor seriously considered any alternatives to recurring rounds of war and death. It is literally the only option this government, and its predecessors, have on the table.”

And for more background on the situation, Indigenous organizer, Kelly Hayes of Truthout, had an in-depth conversation with Palestinian American  organizer, Lea Kayali, on Kelly’s “Movement Memos” podcast (transcript provided) in May 2021. The title of this episode is “What the Mainstream Media Never Told You About Palestine.”

Here’s an excerpt, a quote from Lea Kayli: “Our resistance will actually always be called violence, even if no physical human beings are actually being harmed and I think the characterizations of, for example, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement, sort of clarifies how that can happen, but that really, forces us to ask this question about what is violence? In the Palestinian context, Israel has one of the world’s largest and most well-financed military, bankrolled by of course, that 3.8 billion dollars of U.S. tax money a year. When we ask ourselves, what is violence, I’d highlight that life expectancy in Israel is 10 years higher than it is the West Bank and Gaza. The infant mortality rate in Gaza is more than five times higher than it is in Israel and several times higher than it is in the U.S.. Palestinians … and obviously, within the U.S. there’s massive disparities in those numbers as well, when we look at racial breakdown. And to me, this characterization is essential, because all of these things are forms of violence and Palestinians in every corner of historic Palestine are facing violent dispossession. So the reality is that the State of Israel does not want Palestinians to live. That is the core violence. Population control and demographic supremacy is literally baked into the idea of Zionism, as with any ethnostate, and it’s written into the laws of the country, as we talked about earlier.”
All of us who attended public schools in the United States are in need of deprogramming (on this and many other issues), and I hope you’ll take the time to read and think about how you might react if you and your ancestors had “endured 73 years of brutal colonization, brutal racial oppression and ongoing ethnic cleansing.”
One way to show solidarity with Palestinian people’s fight for freedom, justice, and equality is to check out the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions). Another is to have conversations with friends and families, especially those who believe the situation is too complex for them to hold an opinion. This tweet from a couple days ago really resonated with me:
Wishing you all a good week! We’re headed out for a camping trip and will be without internet connection, but I’d love to engage with you on this upon my return. Until then, solidarity! ✊🏽

A dose of nature

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

On Tuesday, Zippy and I drove to Kenosha Pass to admire the changing foliage and take a hike. I was giddy with anticipation since we’d left Emma at home which meant I could fully relax without constantly scanning for other dogs on the trail. Emma came to us with some emotional baggage and she still, after all these years, frequently reacts to other dogs. I was looking forward to a quiet hike and photo session. But when we reached Kenosha Pass, the parking lots where we typically only see about ten vehicles when we drive past on Highway 285 were completely filled with vehicles. Not only that, the side road was also lined with vehicles. About 50 or more vehicles. Ugh.

I made a quick U-turn and drove back another mile or so to a turnoff our neighbor had alerted us to. He’d said there was a lake back there where we could hike. Well, it turns out that lake is now off-limits to the public and there were several NO TRESPASSING signs posted about but there was a parking area for another trailhead. So, off we went.

We were in Pike National Forest where the pine trees outnumbered the showy aspen trees, but that was okay. Because it was SO peaceful in the forest and there was much vivid beauty to admire. (click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

 

We kept a tally of the few birds seen and heard** as we were serenaded by the wind in the pines. And then the pines would quit their shushing wind sounds to become absolutely silent. At one point, we were hiking in that silence and then came upon these trees which loudly creaked as several of them rubbed against each other in the wind.

I fought the urge to investigate which ones were producing the creaking sounds as I’d learned while hiking to Eaglesmere Lake that those sounds are impossible to locate. On that hike, I’d stood in one spot to listen and felt positive the sound was coming from my left, only to move left and then hear the sound coming from behind me. Or in front of me or to the right. It was enough to make me believe in impish woodland creatures.

When we’d arrived at the trailhead, the car display said it was 47 degrees. Clouds moved in as we hiked and the temperature dropped a bit. At one point, the sun shone down as a smattering of teeny-tiny flakes of snow fell. The most troublesome objects in the sky were the three sets of fighter jets that flew over, completely obliterating the tranquility. When the third set roared overhead, Zippy aimed a middle finger at them and shouted a profanity which cracked me up although I couldn’t stop thinking about how the wildlife must be so traumatized by those sounds. At least we understood the source of that horrific noise.

It wasn’t all pines, we did see some glorious aspen displays. Here we are taking turns being leaf-peepers. As you can see, Zippy’s approach is a bit more stealth than mine.

 

 

 

After we’d turned around to head back, the clouds began to darken and I started singing Winnie-the-Pooh’s “A Little Black Rain Cloud.” But it wasn’t rain in those clouds, it was snow! For a while there, we hiked through an absolute flurry.

Our first snow of the season! We were above 10,000 feet so it shouldn’t have been that unexpected, but it did feel a bit other-worldly. And it was getting colder. All summer when hiking with my camelback, the first sips of water that’d been in the tube were always warmer than the following sips. It was the reverse: the tube-water was cold and the water from inside the pack was warm. Kinda trippy!

Fortunately, I was dressed appropriately and kept warm for the 5 1/2 mile hike. Even better, we only saw ONE HUMAN that entire time. A woman on a mountain bike passed us going the other way at our four-mile mark and then caught up with us again a few minutes before we made it back to our car. We were SO glad we’d opted out of the hordes of leaf-peepers on the pass. They might’ve seen more aspen displays than us, but we had the solitude on our side. It was truly a magnificent hike.

All gratitude to nature!

**
Dark-headed Junco
Canada Jay
Possibly a bald eagle although probably a Turkey Vulture
Mountain Chickadee
Crow
Common Raven
Chipmunk

Climate Movement Monday: clean energy for schools

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Welcome back to Climate Movement Mondays! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during these difficult days of climate chaos. It was rough seeing those photos and videos of flooding in New York, knowing this is our new reality. Fortunately, we have the technology to turn this ship around and we have people organizing to enact change in their communities. Today I want to bring attention to the nationwide efforts to “Create resilient schools with electrified buildings and transportation powered by clean energy” via an organization I just learned about: Generation180. “We are supporting K-12 schools to electrify their buildings and vehicles, power them with clean energy, and create energy resilient hubs for their communities.”

Image from Generation180

Their website is vast and there are many resources available. I’d like to highlight a few things I found:

  • The application window to apply for the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate opened on September 28th and schools can apply through January 31, 2024. You can access all related info, resources, and application documents HERE. If, like me, you no longer have children in school or never had children in school, you might feel removed from this issue. But, schools are a great place to push for climate/pollution action and I’m going to contact my local school district to make sure they have the links and info to apply for the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate.
  • The group’s Alliance for Electric School Buses can be found HERE. Scroll down on that page to find a U.S. map showing states with active campaigns. A group called Moms Clean Air Force seems particularly active and here’s a snippet from their 9.28.23 press release re the EPA’s announced round of $500 million for the Clean School Bus Rebates: “Every day, millions of children across America ride school buses. Nearly all of the 500,000 buses in our nation’s school bus fleet are diesel-powered, spewing harmful tailpipe pollution into the air with every ride to school. But thanks to important investments like the Clean School Bus Program, we’re making critical progress. More and more school buses are becoming cleaner as polluting diesel vehicles are replaced by safer zero-emission buses.” It’s also pointed out that not only do children suffer the ill-effects of diesel vehicles, but also the drivers!
  • The Clean Energy Help Desk for Schools has tons of info including state resources, financing info, and success stories. That and more can be found HERE.
  • A webcast series that helps schools access federal funding can be found HERE.
  • Here’s a fun thing to do: scroll down to look at a map showing U.S. schools with solar. (Note: Colorado, which loves to tout its high number of sunshine-days, has only 129 schools with solar installations, while my home state of Wisconsin has 241 solar-powered schools! But the Colorado middle school my sons attended years ago now has solar. Yay!)

Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll pass along these resources to families with school-age children. We need to utilize the positive aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act and that means accessing federal funding to clean up our communities and make them more resilient to the effects of climate change. Until next time, stay safe. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Happy Caturday from Marcel

/ Tracy Abell

This slightly menacing photo was actually taken in December of 2022 and I’m using it because both Marcel and his brother Loki are napping right now and I don’t want to risk waking them for a Caturday photo shoot. I’m drafting my new manuscript and it’s hard to write when Loki is draped over my right shoulder, which is what he’ll demand upon waking. Years ago, Zebu gifted me a sling for holding/carrying a feline but neither one likes it. They prefer the undivided attention that comes with me holding them in my arms.

So, I’m doing a drive-by posting and then going back to work on my project while the little terrorists are asleep.

*whisper-shouts* Happy Caturday!

 

Update: Just as I was about to hit PUBLISH, Loki sauntered into my writing room. Crying for attention.

Things are happening

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo.
It’s this dead zone between two places.
But to walk, you’re some place that’s already interesting.
You’re not just between places.
Things are happening.
~ Rebecca Solnit

Climate Movement Mondays: Green New Deal for Public Schools

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

Hey, welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I typically highlight a frontline community hit hardest by the effects of the climate crisis and then offer a quick action you can take on their behalf. Before I get to that, though, I wanted to share some good news:

Last week in the days following the massive March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City, (coincidence? I think not!) Biden announced the formation of the American Climate Corps which is a reboot of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)  of the Great Depression. Per the White House press release, “The American Climate Corps will focus on equity and environmental justice – prioritizing communities traditionally left behind, including energy communities that powered our nation for generations,…” The program aims to put 20,000 young people to work which is a number far short of what’s needed, but it’s a start. And hopefully, the program will be expanded after it gets going. You can read an article about it here and sign up at the American Climate Corps website to specify your areas of interest and learn more.

Okay, let’s get to the Green New Deal for Public Schools! This legislation is sponsored by Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Sen. Ed Markey and “would invest $1.6 trillion over 10 years to fund green upgrades that remove all health harms and carbon pollution from every public school in the nation while taking on environmental and racial inequities. It will unleash the potential of safe and inspiring public education for 50 million K-12 students in every neighborhood across the country. And, it will add essential staff to vulnerable schools, create 1.3 million good paying jobs annually, and reduce carbon emissions by 78 million metric tons each year— that’s the same as taking 17 million gas-powered cars off the road!”

About 150 high schoolers from across the US gathered in Illinois for a summer camp to hone their activism. Photograph: Heather Chen/Courtesy of Sunrise Movement

I’m excited about this legislation for a whole bunch of reasons, including that it would upgrade HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) which we should already have done during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic! Good air quality is essential to good health and good learning. WHOA! In the time since I began writing this post, the number of co-sponsors for the legislation has risen from 48 to 54!

Want to make that number climb? Go here (scroll down) to personalize a short message to your representative and two senators, asking them to sign on as co-sponsors. That’s it!

Thank you for reading and adding your voice to these efforts. Solidarity! ✊🏽