[The Israeli burning of olive-tree groves] is familiar to thousands of Palestinian families. In the name of security, Israel systematically removes them from the land and erases their historic rootedness to this geographic place. For Palestinians, food and agriculture are not merely a pastime; they are a way of life. Without it, they’re rendered powerless economically, voiceless politically and devoid of their own cultural legacy. Yet that’s exactly why a sovereign and self-supporting food system is an early target of the Israel.
The Israeli occupation has transformed the Palestinian food system, converting it from a producer society to a consumer society, according to multiple West Bank residents. A tangled web of laws makes it difficult to sell crops or products like tahini for prices high enough to function as a sustainable income, and settlements continue to encroach upon Palestinian villages, seizing arable land and restricting access to crucial natural resources like water. Food is the first frontier of this conflict, and the Palestinian right to produce, sell and eat local food is a barometer for the future viability of the resistance movement.
[...] [In 1994, Israel and Palestine] signed the Paris Protocol to regulate economic interaction. The agreement hamstrung any hopes at Palestinian economic development, all but guaranteeing it would become dependent on Israel. It gave Israel full control of borders and put the sole customs clearinghouse under its jurisdiction. Goods entering and exiting Palestine remain subjected to Israeli taxes. Palestinian exports are heavily taxed while Israeli goods enter Palestine freely. Israeli goods, especially produce and food-related products like tahini and olive oil, flood the market with alternatives cheaper than local options.
What’s transpired as a result is the dramatic transformation of Palestine, says Raya Ziada, who founded an acroecology nonprofit based in Ramallah. “We depend on other people, whether that’s Israel or international aid, and we have to follow other people’s direction on producing food.”
Raya and others argue this is a deliberate act by the Israelis to handicap opposition to the occupation.
—Carly Graf, "Food Is the First Frontier of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," 2019.
Guys please talk about Palestinian prisoners’ day. It feels like everyone has gone full mask off and just stopped bringing attention to this entirely - but a lot of detainees you advocated for one year ago are still detained today. Still facing the same conditions of squalor & torture & being indefinitely separated from their loved ones. The stats on Palestinian detainees are still as bad as they’ve ever been. Please talk about it
Ghada's Journey from Gaza:
A Plea to Save My Family from the Horrors of War
Hello, my name is Ghada, I am 32 years old,
and I once lived a life full of hope and ambition.
As the bombing intensified and the violence escalated, we were forced to flee our beautiful home, which was completely destroyed, to the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. We lived in a small tent barely a few meters wide, but even that was not enough. We were forced to flee again to central Gaza, where we now live in a school for displaced people, moving from one place to another without knowing when this tragic journey will end 💔🏚️.
I also have two married brothers, Mohamed and Ahed, who live with us in the same displacement location with their children (Lama, Nabil, and Amir) and (Fatima, Eman, and Noor). The children, having lost their toys and games, have found some joy playing with the pets 🐾, trying to find happiness in the darkest of times.
But the bitter reality is that we are living in an uninhabitable environment. Diseases and insects are widespread, and sewage water floods the area around us. The children, who should be focused on learning and playing, now suffer from malnutrition and disease. Recently, the spread of the polio virus among them has only added to their pain and suffering 🦠😔.
All we hope for now is to find safety, to not die before we can escape or move to a safer place. But even that simple right seems impossible. We need your help to raise the money needed to cross the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt, where the coordination cost for one person ranges between $5,000 and $7,000.
We are trying to hold on to hope 🌟, trying our best to find safety for ourselves and our children. With your support, we might just achieve that. Every share of this story, every donation, every bit of help can make a huge difference.
Please, help us raise our voices, and help us save our family 🙏💙.
GoFundMe campaign link 💔❤️ >>>
on their verified list, number 6.
Link vetted ➡️
Okay, here’s the other skit for my other version of the Mermaid!AU~!
Compared to the Marine Biologist!AU, this version has Yuu getting stranded on an island while on a scuba diving trip, and their goal is not only to find a way to get home, but also to discover the secrets of the island and uncover the history behind what caused the mermaids and the avians (aka like Rook since he’s a seagull) to be separated and turned into mere mythology.
What you’re about to read was more or less a writing exercise I wrote and edited for a possible part when Yuu first wakes up. I don’t think I’m going to use this as part of the prologue, but it’s still a possibility if anyone else wanted to imagine this situation once I get it started!
Reminder: there is a language barrier between the humans and mermaids/avians, meaning that things we know the names of would be things they don’t know. Just like in the Little Mermaid! 0v0
Enjoy~!
////——////
Drip…drip…drip……
A quiet groan escaped as Yuu slowly opened their eyes, grunting and gasping as they slowly picked themselves up. Their body was battered and sore, their lungs burning as cold, damp air chilled their skin. Struggling to gather their thoughts, slowly but surely the memories of what happened came flooding back. What the hell was that…that…thing they saw?! What could possibly exist in the world that could destroy an entire ship in one swipe?! How—
How…did they survive?
“Where…am I?” Yuu uttered, looking at their surroundings. It became clear that they were inside a cave, a large pool of water nearby illuminated with a bright blue-green light that made ripples across the ceiling. The stone walls were also covered with glowing blue lights, slowly fading in and out like glittering stars. Were these glow worms? Wait…no, those hung from the ceiling. Some type of crystal?
On trying to stand to get a closer look at the wall, however, they collapsed the moment they tried to put any weight on their leg. In the dim lighting, they could see that their leg was wrapped tightly in seaweed. Peeling it away, they discovered a strange paste covering a large gash in the wet suit’s leg and an injury that looked mostly healed. Where had it come from? Who wrapped their leg up in seaweed and tended to their injuries?
“What’s…going on?” they uttered, noticing the array of random junk and items nearby. It looked like random stuff that had come from ships, some old, broken, and tattered while others were sealed in water-tight containers. Digging around one of the containers, Yuu found several survival kits inside and a survival guidebook in a waterproof bag and immediately pulled out the thermal blanket to wrap around their cold body. Sighing as their body began to warm up, they looked around once again and wondered, “How did I even get here?”
Bloop!
Yuu’s eyes landed on the pool of water nearby, staring at the rippling surface.
Bloop!
Their heart skipped a beat as they scuttled away from the edge, clutching the blanket around them tightly as they stared. Even from this angle they spotted two shadowy shapes appearing, both slowly growing larger and larger. ‘What is that?!’ they thought, heart hammering in their chest. Then—right before their eyes—a head emerged from the water.
A humanoid head with fins on its head.
Bright green eyes stared at them, the creature’s skin a mix of soft and dark blue with a black spade mark on its face partly hidden by the dark blue hair on its head. Its jaw dropped open as the fish it had been carrying fell, floating in the water. Seconds later, a second head emerged from the water with a head of bright red hair and a red heart-shaped mark on the opposite side of its face. This one looked annoyed as it chittered and squeaked something at its friend…before it too stopped and stared at Yuu.
“……I…I’m dreaming,” Yuu whispered. “I’m delirious and imagining fish-people in the water. There’s no way this is real…”
Then—in what looked like whispering—the creatures began quietly clicking and chittering at one another.
///—///
“…dude…it’s awake…”
“I know…”
“Why is it awake?!”
“I thought it was going to still be unconscious by the time we left the fish for it!”
“Dude, I told you to leave that thing alone! What if it’s dangerous?!”
“If it were dangerous, it would have already attacked us, Ace!”
The cavern echoed their words back at them, both of them glancing back and forth between each other and the strange two-legged creature.
“This is not good,” Ace uttered, gripping his head nervously. “Seriously, what are we going to do? How are we going to explain this to the others?! What even is it in the first place??”
“I don’t know!” Deuce snapped. “Maybe…they’re a deformed seal? Or an avian who lost their wings?”
“Then how do you explain the flippers on its legs instead of talons?” Ace pointed out. He did a double-take and asked, “And did it just grow a new set of silver scales? That’s so weird!”
“Weird or not, it still needed our help, Ace!” Deuce said with a frown. “They only appeared right after the Island Guardian reacted to that small metal whale, right? So maybe…it’s a new species that came from another island seeking help?”
Ace groaned as he shook his head. “We’re going to be in so much trouble once Riddle finds out about this…”
“You’re the one who said you wanted to go out beyond the void after getting him angry in the first place.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Eem treemin,” the creature mumbled, shaking their head before smacking their palms against the sides of their head. “Eem treemin, eem treemin…!”
“Is…is it okay?” Deuce asked, cautiously swimming forward to try and check on them.
Spotting movement nearby, Ace noticed a brightly colored form slithering across the cavern floor as it crawled across the silver skin around the creature’s body. It seemed to notice its new visitor too and—with wide eyes—it jumped up with a shriek.
“AAAAA!!”
“AAAAA!!!”
“AAAAAAA!!!”
I am grateful for the assistance I have received so far, but I am still in need of more support to reach my campaign goal swiftly. This will enable me to evacuate my family from Gaza 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸.
Help my family escape Gaza and rebuild our lives My family needs to evacuate Gaza for your safety. My family is struggling without shelter, food or health services. On October 7, 2023, we lost our home and have no plan for the future. Every day is a gamble, we don't know if we will survive. We are launching this GoFundMe for evacuation and basic needs. Your contribution could be a lifeline. Please, help us escape this nightmare. Share our story and stand with us in our time of need. Thanks for your support. Your donation makes a difference. Be the hope the world
,🆘dont skip please save my family from the genocide🆘
I will take amoment of your time
My name is Shadi Issa. I am married and a father of three children: Tia (6 years old), Ibrahim (4 years old), and Sand (1.5 years old). We currently live in Deir al-Balah, located in central Gaza, after being forced to flee from northern Gaza where we previously lived in Beit Lahia. We, along with over a million other Palestinians, had to relocate to the southern part of Gaza, specifically to Rafah, where we experienced a period of relative stability until the outbreak of the conflict.
Before the war, I worked as an accountant and we enjoyed a peaceful and stable life in our home, which comprised five residential apartments occupied by my extended family and me. We had access to amenities such as a water well and a solar power system, and we cultivated olive trees on our land. Our lives were proceeding normally, and my children were about to start the school year, until the fateful day of October 7, 2023, when the war erupted, turning our lives into a living nightmare. Our home was bombed, destroying our dreams and future.
Our displacement journey began amidst the bombing and danger, leading us to makeshift shelters lacking basic necessities. We face daily struggles to find drinking water, which is often unsuitable for use. We currently live in a tent no larger than five square meters, which offers no protection from the summer heat or winter cold, and provides no defense against insects, scorpions, and snakes, which have impacted the health of our children.
We have endured immense pain and fear, witnessing death repeatedly. The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, and all escape routes are blocked. Returning to northern Gaza is prohibited due to security barriers. After seven months in Rafah, where we faced further bombing and losses, we moved to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where we lost all our belongings.
Escaping Gaza to Egypt is not easy and requires significant funds to cover travel costs and other fees. The estimated cost is $5,000 per adult and $2,500 per child. The funds will be used to cover travel expenses and basic living costs in Egypt until we can rebuild our lives away from the ongoing conflict.
We are currently living in an extremely cramped tent, and we have lost everything we once had. I kindly ask for your assistance in raising $20,000, which will enable us to escape to Egypt, where we can be safe and start a new life, and where our children can attend school and have a chance at a normal life.
Any contribution, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated and will help save our lives. We urge you to support us and help us in this critical time.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Hello, I am Youssef Al-Yazji, from Palestine, Gaza specifically, from the bombing tunch and inside the tents, we suffer from many things, including the fear of death and leaving my child alone with him and my wife, including malnutrition and water pollution caused by my child, and I cannot provide him with treatment because of the high prices 🥹, and now we also suffer from severe cold and from the sinking of the tents, and the tents in which I live is not suitable for living because it is damaged by the sun. I hope you donate to me at least $5 to protect my child and my family from the winter and severe cold and provide treatment. Please donate to me and I hope you do not go through these difficult circumstances longevity ♥️🙏🏽
Vetted by @gazavetters , my number verified on the list is ( #87 )
https://gofund.me/e98bf79a
.
My friend Mahrah (@mahrahpalestine) is an engineering student. She is brilliant and speaks with a clarity of analysis and thoughtfulness (even in a second language, even while living in crisis), that is profoundly impressive and humbling to me. She holds hope that Palestine will be free, and when it is, she will use her knowledge and skill to help rebuild.
Her father lost his job due to the war, and she does not have the money for university fees. The situation for her and other Palestinians is getting more difficult as the duration of the crossing closure increases, and the genocidal famine is leading to sickness and starvation.
Mahrah explained, "Food is missing from the markets. If the food is found, it is usually unhealthy because it contains preservatives and we eat it for a year and 8 months, and this causes diseases. But there are no other options to do without it. My nephews are at risk for my father's and mother's diseases and need healthy food because they are at an advanced age. It's like a famine, but there is no media to cover what's happening. They killed all the journalists."
Donations have been slowing, and she is afraid for her family's health. If you can spare some money to help them, please do.
Mahrah has been so incredibly kind and loving to me in our conversations, even checking in how I've been while recovering from surgery. She has extended so much compassion towards me, and I want to encourage others to extend that same level of compassion towards her.
Hello!
This young woman was pushed out onto the street and could use some assistance. If you can’t donate, please help me spread this as much as possible!