By Jafar M. Ramini
I do not want to see a declaration of an unviable, unsustainable, miniscule state on the sacred land of Palestine come September. I do want to see a grassroots revolution amongst all Palestinians, all over the world.
I am not going to indulge in a long-winded lesson of history here. We all know who is the wronged and who is the perpetrator of those wrongs. We also know that without us, the entire Palestinian nation taking our fate and destiny in our own hands, all will be lost. And I do mean all of the landmass of Palestine. It will be gobbled up by the Zionist, Apartheid state of Israel with the tacit approval of the usual suspects and the complete disengagement of the entire Arab/Muslim world.
Yes, some Palestinians who do not taste the bitter pill of the occupation on a daily basis have taken their eyes off the ball. Being in a state of apathy because you are busy building a life for you and yours away from the suffering of other Palestinians is not an excuse. Maybe they’re tired of waiting for our so-called leaders to deliver a remotely satisfactory or reasonable solution to our age-old problem. But that does not mean we must give up and abandon any hope that a lasting and just peace will be achieved. Yes, our leaders mislead us. Yes our leaders do not represent us and yes, our leaders do not have the best interests of Palestine or the Palestinians as a first priority. But steps taken in anger and frustration are not the answer.
My compatriot, ‘Ranman’ has been sparring with me on these very pages since I started my contributions. He vilified me, he disagreed with me, he tentatively agreed with me and on a couple of very rare occasions he applauded me. Yet, his message has always been and still is, what is taken by the sword can only be regained by the sword.
On the face of it, this is a very brave and noble act of defiance and pride. I wonder if my compatriot has thought beyond venting his spleen and looked starkly at what would happen to the Palestinians and to Palestine if we were to indulge in yet another bloody conflict. Some of you might cry ‘defeatism’. Some of you might cry ‘surrender’ and some of you might brush me aside as a Palestinian living in exile in a modicum of comfort so why would anyone take what I say seriously?
Ranman says ‘ I never put any credence and trust in all the UN resolutions, international rules and laws’. And then he says that our leadership is discredited and disinterested in the welfare of Palestine and the Palestinians. I agree with every word he says. Yet he wants to send the discredited, disinterested, un-mandated current leadership to the international forum he has no time for to try to declare an independent state of Palestine.
Then Ranman says, ‘the Israelis are fit and strong and the Palestinians are unfit and weak’. A truer statement has never been made. Yet he wants these unfit Palestinians to miraculously become strong and fit and take on the world’s fourth larges army in a bloody conflict. Warped logic? Or anger and frustration? I will leave you, my reader, to decide for yourself.
I also do not lend any credence to our current leaders, whether they be Hamas, Fatah, The Popular Front For The Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad or whatever banners various groups carry on my behalf. They do not represent me. They do not speak in my name. And I want nothing to do with any of them. Angry detractors may ask me, ‘who the hell do you think you are to utter such damning proclamations without offering any other solution?
To those people I say, I am a Palestinian. I have always been a Palestinian and I hope that I will meet my maker a proud and un-tarnished Palestinian. As such I have every right to say and write whatever I feel deeply in my heart will make a difference and keep our cause in focus and keep our hopes and aspirations alive.
I have been trying to do what I think is vital to our very survival and the survival of our cause by calling for a referendum amongst all Palestinians. I have been begging for help, support and understanding. So far to little avail.
Ranman, my compatriot, most of what you said in your posting is accurate. But throwing adjectives and descriptions at other Palestinians and other groupings of Palestinians will not achieve any results. I understand your passion, but I am struggling to understand your reasoning. What I say is a firm ‘no’ to a state at this stage. And ‘yes’ to a grassroots revolution that encompasses us all. See you in Jerusalem.
Jafar M. Ramini
Salam Wa Laisa Estislam
Peace Not Capitulation
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