Our World Too

In an article for The New Humanitarian, Zainab Chamoun reflects on being forcibly displaced from her home in Nabatieh, South Lebanon because of the zionist regime. You can read Zainab's article here: https://lnkd.in/eD56Ykmm #displacement #Nabatieh #SouthLebanon

These are messages from our friend, Zainab Chamoun. She and her family have been displaced from their home in Nabatieh in the South of Lebanon to Beirut because of the zionist entity's expansion of its current genocidal campaign. When we reference 1 million people displaced and over 2000 killed in Lebanon and the millions displaced and tens of thousands killed in Palestine, these are not just numbers. Behind every single number and statistic is a family, is a friend, are hopes and dreams. Reducing people to statistics does not serve anyone but the people in power who consistently try to dehumanise and reduce the number of casualties. A ceasefire is not enough. The only way to ensure peace is to end the zionist entity's colonialism. [Cedar Tree, Olive Tree, Watermelons]

From the 'refugee crisis' and the application of international law to the justification for murder and war, the double standards are more obvious now than ever. "Ukrainian refugees look like us", so we must help, but refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina also looked like you, and you didn't help. "We encourage Iran and Lebanon to show restraint", but the zionist entity's actions are defended without question. "We will go to war in Iraq based on false intelligence and to war in Afghanistan to save Muslim women", but we won't stop the genocide happening in Palestine and Lebanon because international law doesn't apply to us. Brown and black communities are all implicated when one person does something, but communities from the Global North are not because they were probably just a 'lone wolf.' The dehumanisation of our communities didn't happen overnight, and it won't be undone overnight, but it is on all of us to call out these double standards whenever we hear or see them. #CedarTree #OliveTree #dehumanisation #resistance, #InternationalLaw

The zionist state is determined to continue its colonial expansion at the expense of the native Palestinian and Lebanese population. We wanted to highlight 5 key points when talking about the genocide happening in Palestine and Lebanon right now. #CedarTree #OliveTree #Watermelon #Natives #Freedom

Alan Kurdi's death in 2015 was met with widespread sympathy and condemnation from the media and political circles. However, Alan's death changed nothing. Over 22, 390 people have died in the Mediterranean since then because of Fortress Europe's racist and colonial policies. European countries have the ability to create humane asylum policies as demonstrated by the 'safe routes' and asylum processes created for Ukrainian refugees. European policies however, prefer to create a hierarchy of lives and group refugees and asylum seekers into 'deserving' and 'undeserving' groups based solely on their countries of origin. #refugees #asylumseekers #AlanKurdi #FortressEurope

Medo (Mohammad) Halimy was 19 years old. He was murdered by the zionist government. Numbers do not encompass anyone's life or experiences. Statistics do not tell you about dreams or losses. Statistics dehumanise. Numbers erase experiences. His name was Medo Halimy. Remember his name. #Palestine

The politicians and the media are directly responsible for the violence we're seeing in the UK right now. There are consequences for the use of hateful and dehumanising rhetoric.

There has been an increasingly hate filled rhetoric directed towards Syrian refugees located in Lebanon, Turkiye and Europe. Politicians have portrayed Syrian refugees as being the cause of the economic crisis facing their countries and for 'demographic' changes. Refugees never have and never will be responsible for economic or political crises. Refugees also do not flee their own homes to change the demographics of a country. They flee because they are forced to and deserve the same safety we all take for granted. Syria is not safe as long as Assad and his regime are in power. Instead of trying to scapegoat Syrian refugees, stop normalising ties with the Assad regime. Syrian refugees who are forcibly returned will face intimidation, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearance and death. The EU's racist refugee policies have ensured Syrians are unable to claim asylum in Europe and have paid billions of euros to countries to make sure they can not enter Europe. These are the same European countries that are now normalising ties with the Assad regime and suggesting Syria is safe. This is to ensure that with the current anti-Syrian rhetoric in countries such as Lebanon and Turkiye, Syrian refugees are kept out of Fortress Europe and are instead driven back to the very dictator that forced them to flee their homes to begin with. Stand with refugees. #SpotlightSyria

A reminder. When you're asked if you include the voices of people with lived experience of displacement, ask yourself if it's only for fundraising drives or to include in research. The voices of people who have lived experience of displacement matter in understanding what problems to address, how to address them, and what success looks like. Their voices and opinions matter in long-term strategic decisions and the everyday running of organisations and campaigns. The humanitarian and international development sectors should NOT act as a continuation of colonisation by other means. You do not get to make money by sharing traumatic stories from communities or use them to further your academic career and not afford them the respect and dignity they deserve. #Decolonisation #TakeBackTheNarrative