Gaza, from the diaspora

Smoke rises during an Israeli offensive in the east of Gaza City on 27 July.

Ashraf Amra APA images

I

Even from space Gaza is on fire, is

Children, sheltering in UNRWA schools (hit), is,

Entire families huddled in hospitals (hit), is

You sitting perfectly still in the dark, hoping this one,

Will miss you.

II

From Amman, from Beirut, in Chicago.

We, online, yes.

But no 146 characters this.

1000 killed, 4000 injured, thousands displaced no place.

III

Twitter feeds and facebook timelines and

10 reasons why you should boycott Israel Now, and

5 Ways Children Die in Gaza today or

How to Lose 18 members of Your Family in One Minute

(@Bibi54 stop saying the rockets are in the damn hospitals, in the school rooms, under the beds of four year olds)

Maybe it helps that 8 Celebrities Expressed Their Outrage.

tweeted and deleted.

(@CNN@Foxnews Bas rewriting history, Bas lies on tv)

@Jon Stewart, thank you for educating the silent majority with satire.

-

IV

Day 17: What happened? what is still happening?

In Jabaliya, the dead console the dying ;

Anisa, with one child in her arms, and another in her belly (dead).

In the hospital, they put the pregnant women alone, because they’re carrying hope, because they don’t want them to see what can happen to children.

Oh white phosphorous (and unconfirmed reports of illegal dense inert metal explosives).

V

I can confirm this:

International law, is clearly for internationals only.

By now, a 7 year old in Gaza has survived 3 wars already, and you’re still talking about talks, and sending John Kerry to the Middle East, and thanking Egypt for facilitating nothing.

There’s more blood than water today in Gaza.

 

Jehan Bseiso is a Palestinian poet, researcher and aid-worker currently based in Cairo. Follow her @jehanbseiso. Contact her at: Jehan.bseiso AT gmail DOT com.

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