I agreed with TWiP’s inimitable publisher, Sani Meo, that he wouldn’t send any more work my way after March 20 because I had a book deadline looming mid-April. Still, no sooner was Easter Monday over than I received a note from him saying it was “only fair” that I should pen this issue’s “Message from the Editor” since I had edited some 80 percent of its content. So, what’s a beleaguered freelance editor to do but concur that it’s “only fair” even though she’d harbored secret fantasies that the task might fall to her comrade-in-arms, Kirsty Wright, who carried the issue through to the finish line?
So much has taken place since the March issue of TWiP, and yet so little has changed. Six months going onto seven, we continue to witness the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians proceed unimpeded, as Israel – aided, abetted, and enabled by its American sponsor – ignores the entirety of the world manifesting as the “international community”: whether the ICJ’s renewed demand on March 28 for the immediate and unimpeded provision of food, water, and medicines to the now starving population of Gaza; the UN Secretary-General’s appeal from Rafah for the carnage to stop; extensive documentation of Israel’s genocidal campaign, foremost among them Francesca Albanese’s damning report in her capacity as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories; the March 25 UN Security Council Resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire, tepid as it was, or just a clever little bit of Kabuki, given the United States’ top UN diplomat (mis)characterizing it as nonbinding; or the global outcry from Amman to Kuala Lumpur, from New York to Geneva, and from London to Melbourne, both on the streets and in the halls of power.
TWiP’s offerings this month well reflect the transnational dimensions of Palestine’s diaspora. Whether essays, reflections, poems, in-depth articles, or impassioned cries, as well as visual artistry, all the contributions come from Palestinians either living or born in countries as far flung as Colombia, Chile, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, the UK, and the US. This diverse array and register of Palestinian voices make up the diaspora in all its abundance and richness, and TWiP is grateful to each and every one of them (listed in order of appearance): Aimee Shalan, the head of Makan, a Palestinian-led transformative education organization based in London; author Ramzy Baroud, a son of Gaza, who is the editor and president of Palestine Chronicle; Amer Zahr, who hardly needs introduction as the preeminent Palestinian American stand-up comedian (he’s also a lawyer and professor, who knew?!!!); Micaela Sahhar, a Palestinian Australian scholar, writer, and educator based in the Melbourne area; Odette Yidi, an educator and researcher who heads Colombia’s Institute of Arab Culture in Baranquillo; British Palestinian writer Mona Al Ghussein; Palestinian Italian creative writing lecturer and author, Sabrin Hasbun; Maurice Khamis Massù, who presides over Chile’s Palestinian community; Reem Borrows, an Australian Palestinian author, speaker, and coach with family origins in Haifa; Ramallah-born author Terry Ahwal, a mover and shaker in Arab American circles; Yara Alatshan, a marketing expert and dedicated activist living in Canada; and last, but by no means least, Ahlam Bisharat, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Najwa Juma, and Majdal Nateel, four women spanning the globe from Ramallah to Seattle, and from Stuttgart to Gaza, whose artistic offerings are balm to our hearts.
As we all continue to watch the agony of Gaza, and bear witness to Israel’s perpetration of violence throughout the Palestinian homeland, may the words of Gaza’s own Ramzy Baroud accompany us as our daily incantation: Palestine Will Be Okay. And despite the unspeakable circumstances in which our brothers and sisters are celebrating in many parts of the globe, TWiP wishes its Muslim readers Eid al-Fitr Mubarak, envers et contre tout.
By maia tabet
