I SIT gripped by rage, extreme guilt and frustration in the corner of my classroom as I scroll through the daily news reports on my iPad.
“Palestinian death toll rises over 4,600” the headline by The Guardian reads while another section reports “Children developing severe trauma after 16 days of bombing”.
You don’t have to be an adult or a Muslim to feel completely sick to the core for being unable to shake off horror after horrors that keep unfolding in the Gaza Strip.
The graphic details of injured civilians and dead bodies of children are proof of the annihilation that the Palestinians have been facing daily since early October this year.
Such monstrous outrage and anarchy inflicted on them are fuelled by what can only be described as a clear intent to kill.
“The cataclysm that you and I are witnessing in Gaza is a genocide in the awful making,” said an Al Jazeera reporter characterising the situation. There is nowhere safe and nowhere to flee.
One Gazan said life and death have no difference at this point. Hospitals, mosques and churches are equally targeted.
We also know that these war crimes against the helpless men, women and children in Gaza through starvation and blockades on all sides are callously disguised as self-defence by Israeli forces.
The Palestinians are losing their lives and equally agonising, as I observe, their voice.
The more than 70 years of suffocating siege, occupation and endless oppression in what has been painted as “hell on earth” by the UN Secretary-General does not seem to matter as the world is blinded by the terror and violence of Hamas fighters, thinking that they represent the innocent people of Gaza.
As bombs continue to rain mercilessly on the dense population of 2.3 million, with almost half of them children, many of us are convinced that the world can no longer pin their remaining hopes on international law and institutions that have utterly been dysfunctional.
Neither can we rely on powerful countries and leaders whose self-interest trumps love, compassion and humanism.
Young people, adults and the elderly, wherever we may be, regardless of our faith and colour, must unite and stand steadfast in solidarity with the Palestinians to amplify their voice as the oppressed.
Let us choose and use our media and platform wisely to share and spread the truth.
Continue to push our leaders, representatives, scholars and influencers to call unequivocally and loudly for a ceasefire, diplomacy and peace talks to resume.
Donate and sponsor lifesaving and mental health aid and support for the victims in Gaza.
Organise peaceful rallies and activities in your schools, communities and cities for them.
Amid this dark reality and as the crisis continues to deepen, we must tell ourselves that it is simply not enough for us to grieve and mourn, to sit by and continue watching.
Within my limited abilities and resources, I am doing my part to educate myself, express my thoughts and have honest conversations about what I feel as a child and young teen.
The Palestinians pressingly need us. We must be with them in every way we can.
Emilyn Ayra Khairul Hisham is deputy-secretary of the Children Consultative Council, supervised by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia. She attends Seri Puteri School in Cyberjaya and is passionate about social justice, creative writing, digital arts and chess. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
