Viaka Newsletter: Violence, fear, and resilience in our community
These past two weeks have not been like others…
Since October 7th, I’ve struggled to work on Viaka (or other things).
Like so many of us, my thoughts are not fully here with me (in Boston, MA). They’re in Gaza, in Jerusalem, in Ramallah, in Haifa, in Tel Aviv and across the beautiful country I had the privilege to live in, the honor to still have dear friends in, and the joy to be descended from ancestors born there.
I don’t see it as my place (or Viaka’s place) to make statements, condemnations, or anything else of that nature about these events.
I do, however, think it is important to communicate two things to our community:
We have a large contingent of our own Viaka Network members living in these places. They work tirelessly, ingenuously, and resiliently to build better futures for people living there. Earlier this summer, we highlighted some of their work in our panel on the Palestinian ecosystem.
Our thoughts are first and foremost with them. I pray for an end to the terrible violence inflicted on them and their loved ones; violence that did not start on October 7th, but that has been a consistent, tragic aspect of life there for multiple generations.
I think I speak for the entire network when I say to those living through these events on the ground - we are at your service. Please reach out via email, slack, whatsapp, etc to the rest of the Network. If there’s a message you would like to pass to the entire Network at once, I’d also love to facilitate that.
Our Network members in Europe and North America have seen frightening discourse permeate our professional circles. The rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian sentiment, and a discourse against freedom of thought and speech is nearing ‘witch-hunt’ levels of hysteria.
To put it frankly, no one’s ability to make a living should be jeopardized for a tweet saying “Pray for Gaza.”
As Viaka, and other partner organizations here in Europe and North America make safe spaces (online, in-person, and other) to support each other against this rhetoric, I’ll be sure to share them with everyone in our Network.
That’s it for this week. Please reach out if you need anything.
Best,
Hani
That’s it for this week. Thank you!
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