Fouad Dakwar on Being Palestinian
I often put on this act of a fearless fighter when talking about the mistreatment of my people, but tonight I had a direct one-on-one conversation with someone who actively denies the humanity of Palestinians (one of the apparent majority) that resulted in me crying non-stop for thirty minutes straight. It had me wishing I wasn’t Palestinian because I wished I were part of a group that received some sort of empathy from fellow humans.
The truth is that being Palestinian is one of the hardest things I will ever go through and that no matter how much hope I am given from peers and emerging humanitarian organizations (particularly American-Jewish ones), I will constantly live with the fear that our narrative will conclude the way the Native American one has now- with genocide of the majority of our people, theft of ALL of our land, and the complete dehumanization of our people in order to do it quickly.
We’re on our way there and I don’t know how much more I can ask for help and allyship.
If you somehow don’t condemn the current treatment of Palestinians, delete me from your friends list because we are not friends. My friends must have empathy at its most basic level. This is not a “nuanced” or “controversial” issue when looking at the clear privilege imbalance on either side.
I found this post through a friend, Tala Manassah, on Facebook last night. Originally published on May 20, 2018. Republished with permission. © Fouad Dakwar, All Rights Reserved.