The Lost Right in the Age of Rights

At a time when the world was governed by force and weapons, and fate was dictated according to interests, that’s when the eople had no say in their own affairs —either obedience or death.

However, as time progressed, people began to revolt against governments to demand their rights despite the consequences. This awakening prompted them to recognize that their survival necessitated a certain level of compromise, even in the face of loud promises.

Thus, decades passed, nations turned the tables, and the people became the decision-makers with the right to a decent life. Consequently, numerous organisations emerged advocating for human rights, and slogans calling for freedom, democracy, and other policies that purportedly exist to safeguard human rights in all their differences became the mainstay of countries. However, looking back in history, we find that the primary supporter and advocate for the establishment of an occupying entity on Palestinian land was the United States of America, “the land of the free” and the most famous advocate for democracy and freedom.

The approval of the establishment of this entity came from the United Nations, which stipulates in its charters the "right of people to self-determination" and other rights advocated by this organization, such as equality before the law, the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence; freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, freedom of participation; protection of minority rights; prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of life; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary interference with private life; war propaganda; discrimination; and incitement to racial or religious hatred.

Like many of you, as I studied these rights in my youth and childhood in my school curricula, and as the echoes of freedom were on the tongues of movie heroes, and calls for harmony were highlighted in cartoons, there was a feeling in my heart of confidence and security that our rights were guaranteed. We believed that we had the right to live our lives as we wished, a life filled with goodness and peace, and that we were all equal in the eyes of our mother, life.

Who could fathom it? For what sin were we killed? we have filled our souls with hopes and dreams, that rose every day. Meanwhile,i ask myself why does my fellow human get to live my dream on the brighter side of the world?

If we return in history to the Zionist entity, in the 'Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel' on the fourteenth of May, it states: 'Israel shall be open for Jewish immigrants and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture; and it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.'

Any person familiar with the struggle of the Palestinians against its occupiers will laugh cynically at every word in this declaration. Even Palestinian traditional food have not been spared from open theft and robbery. As for freedom, it has no meaning to us. Since the end of the mandate until this moment, all international conventions and treaties have been violated. Those in power continued to ignore all Zionist violations against Palestinians and Arabs, from seizing the land of Palestinians and forcing them out of their homes, making them refugees, to subsequent wars involving the bitter reality that many people, especially the privileged, ignore.

This is a serious era of persecution under the guise of humanity, filled with hypocrisy and deceit. The weak continue to be oppressed.

All these claims are nothing but a way to gain the sympathy of naive people to have the popular support. This is because today's tyrants are not ignorant of the influence of public opinion on decisions.

The year 1967, the June War, where the Zionist entity seized the lands in Gaza, the West Bank, Sinai, and the Golan Heights—I would like to recommend the Syrian film 'Cherry Messages,' which addresses the Zionist occupation of the Golan Heights and the forced displacement of its people. I also hope that awareness of the importance of cinema in supporting our causes will increase, both in terms of media and expressing our right to freedom of opinion and information. As well as the wars to seize Lebanese territories, and the daily violations against the Palestinian people since the establishment of the occupation state until now, from the imprisonment of protesters, even minors, to physical and psychological torture and terrorist threats of killing, assault, and rape by the occupation forces and even the settlers.

Additionally, the theft of homes from their owners, discrimination, racism, and the deprivation of the right to housing, travel, movement, and life—everything mentioned in the alleged human rights statement. But none of them moves a muscle or utters a word in defense of a single satisfied Palestinian, as it seems that we are not viewed as humans by the authorities but rather as ignorant, third-world Arabs. 'Human animals' at times, and at other times, shields of terrorism, statistics, and our children who drown in their mothers' wombs. Certainly, here is the translation of the provided text:

While in the United Nations Charter - to which the Zionist entity had joined in 1949 after pledging to adhere to the Charter - in the second chapter regarding membership; Article 6 states that 'A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.' No action has been taken against the Zionist government, and no sanctions have been imposed despite the United Nations recognizing that it committed war crimes during the military operations in Gaza in 2008-2009. The UN report concludes that the Israeli military operation was directed against the people of Gaza as a whole, as part of a comprehensive and ongoing policy aimed at punishing the inhabitants of Gaza. The deliberate and systematic destruction of food supply facilities, water sewage systems, concrete factories, and residential homes was all a result of an intentional and methodical policy, making the practice of livelihood, daily life, and decent living more difficult for the civilian population. They are fully aware of the reality, but it seems that the lives of the children of Palestine - sons and daughters of Adam and Eve - do not equal the lives of those who take those lives - The sons of his brother's killer.

If anything, it indicates the reluctance of Powerful governments to address Zionist terrorism against Palestinians, and those who failed to act against past massacres are unlikely to do so now. While the Zionist entity continues to present itself as the victim and the rightful defender against the 'enemies of Semitism seeking to exterminate the Jews,' as the Arab saying goes, 'Hold on until you can,' Zionist Peter Beinart admits in his book 'The Crisis of Zionism' to Zionist oppression against the Palestinians. He acknowledges that the claim of democracy in the entity is nothing but a façade to cover up its atrocities. He calls on his government to stop this oppression, or the Zionists will lose the homeland they have long dreamed of, just as they lost it before.

Today, it stands very clear that we have realised that it is us who must snatch the right we were born with from the mouths of its intruders. We fight every day to live, but not just any life; it is a life of dignity without humiliation or disgrace. We fight to love, to plant and harvest the crops we sowed, to let the voices of songs and laughter resonate in the homes where we grow. We fight to build what has been destroyed and to appreciate what is in our lands: the greenness of the earth as cultivation and the blueness of the sky as purity. Our battered souls fight for their right to peace. We fight with our spirits, bodies, voices, screams, words, and a lot of hope.

'I used to live for a tomorrow without fear, I used to hunger for a day to be satisfied one day, and I wanted to reach tomorrow. Life at that time had no value except for what deep green hope gives and that the sky cannot be cruel without limits.' Ghassan Kanafani said in his novel 'Death of Bed Number 12', speaking in all our languages and with our souls eager for life. We were born to live our lives without being robbed, without being plundered, but they were taken from us, and we became humans living on nothing but this hope. The sad reality is that we realize we might die without seeing it. Without that life, and when that happens what is the meaning of our mere existence?

We don't know what will happen in the coming days, but what we do know and what evidence suggests is that the Zionist entity, relies solely on media blackout after money, It played the role of the victim, clung to lies and deceit, and disguised itself in the attire of the peaceful poor. But today, it is exposed to all, and this repeated lie has become clear to the peoples who are beginning to understand the state of our world today. A new era of power interests has begun, where the strong rule over the weak, covered by the myth of peace and freedom. Rights are trampled as the tyrant wishes. Will the voice of the people's revolution be louder than the tyranny of oppressors? Will the triumph of the will to live prevail over death?

Written in Arabic by :  Tabarak Mazin

Translated to English by :  Tarneem Maitham 

Translated to Kurdish by : Sanaria Tahsin 

Poster Design by: Arwa Alshnary