Blogging about Palestine is not easy, especially lately. I
have plenty of material, but I had no words to express what was in my heart. I
still don’t. But I’m a novelist. It’s my job to find the words to express
emotions…words that will make the reader feel the sorrow and the desperation of
the character. I cry as I write because that’s the only way to make the reader
feel the pain.
But after the hero has been challenged beyond endurance, he
or she dredges up the last bit of strength and will to make one last push to
overcome and triumph. That makes a satisfying novel. The hero (and the reader)
are satisfied.
Unfortunately, what has been happening in Palestine is not
the stuff of novels. The people of Gaza have been pushed beyond endurance, but
that last shred of strength and will may only serve to help them survive. There
has to be a shred of hope somewhere.
Maybe there is just a glimmer, like a lone firefly on a hot
summer night.
Protests from around the world showed up on Facebook.
In New York they marched over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Then there were pictures from New York from Jewish Voice 4 Peace NYC
http://pic.twitter.com/guQkq7lTuJ
In Oakland, California, thousands gathered to protest an Israeli ship docking.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/israeli-ship-remains-at-sea-thousands-protesters-gather
They kept it blocked for four straight days!
The London rally was amazing in size and intensity! http://www.london24.com/news/huge_rally_to_support_gaza_and_protest_against_israel_takes_place_in_london_1_3721166
One of the most impressive demonstrations was in Karachi, Pakistan, where thousands upon thousands of people flooded the streets as far as the eye could see! (Palestine Festival of Literature)
Did it have any effect? The tiniest firefly-glimmer of hope begins to
flicker.
And Uruguay joined Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela in having an embassy in the Palestine http://bit.ly/1u5l4Wr
