Twice the population of the Balearic Islands is trapped in a territory half the size of Menorca, condemned to hunger, systematic murder, and uncertainty while the international community looks on with a more or less grave expression. But what can we do now, from here? How can we help, even with a small gesture?
Fighting against what the heart or the brain cannot understand is difficult. Sometimes it's even hard to find words that don't sound ridiculous or that don't cut too deep. You could say it's a catastrophe, but that's unnatural. You could say it's an injustice, but there's a degree of evil involved that surpasses what is just and what is unjust; justice, at least, rests on standards agreed upon by a collective. You could say it's a disgrace for all human beings, and especially for politicians, but since when has dignity or shame been the driving force behind decisions in this area? Beyond this, there remains the horror, comparable only to the Nazi Holocaust or other genocides like those in Bosnia or Cambodia, and the immense frustration of following it on television, minute by minute, with the excruciating feeling of not knowing how to intervene.
Talking can be a first step. Repeating, every day and on every possible occasion, that right now, not far from Europe, on the very shores of the Mediterranean that bathes our feet, a government presided over by a man subject to an international arrest warrant is about to complete his process of annihilating a people, the Palestinians. Talking about numbers, stories, people. Of refugees, of exiles, of deaths. Only in this way will we be able to push our leaders to stand up for human rights and cut off all ties with those responsible for this infamy. If Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain recognized the Palestinian state last year, it was for no other reason than that, and it will only be by insisting that we might see further progress in this regard.
Also with our money: a global movement has called for a consumer strike that everyone can participate in from their homes, from their surroundings, every Thursday. It's simply about protesting by not contributing to this economic system that makes this possible, a warning to energy companies, large businesses, and corporations, many of them with interests linked to the promoters of genocide, so they know that our money cannot be used to finance this shame.
The helplessness and indignation can be immense. Surely greater than our scope of action. But I think there are quite a few of us who would never forgive ourselves for taking advantage of it at a crucial moment like this. Before it's too late. Before even talking about it serves no purpose.
