How far would you go to have your message heard? A journalist in Gaza is pushing the limits in a new challenge designed to raise awareness about the humanitarian nightmare being inflicted upon residents of the Gaza Strip.
Gaza has been under constant assault since “Operation Protective Edge“ began on July 8th. The war was started against Hamas after three Jewish teenagers that were kidnapped were found dead in Gaza. The Israeli government immediately blamed Hamas and launched a bombing campaign against them; however, it was later found that Hamas was not responsible for the deathsof these teens. This fact has since been overlooked as the war effort continues on for months. Since then,2,100 Palestinians have been killed, 80% of those are assumed to be civilians. Israel has lost 3 civilians and 63 soldiers in the fighting.
The situation in Gaza is nothing short of a full-blown humanitarian disaster. Millions of people on the Gaza Strip go without clean water, electricity, and food daily. At least 100,000 Palestinians have become homeless due to the conflict. Today a 12 story apartment building was bombed and subsequently collapsed, displacing 44 families and killing an unknown amount.
The time for increased awareness about what’s going on in Gaza is now! Here’s how and why the#RubbleBucketChallenge was started:
This is the sad reality of living on the Gaza Strip. 1.8 Million people are trapped and suffering due to the actions of Hamas; faced with an economic embargo forcing nearly everyone into malnutrition. Clean water is nearly impossible to find; and freezing it requires electricity, which is also hard to find there. But rubble is everywhere, and is symbolic of the struggle these innocent people are facing.
225 Jewish survivors and relatives of survivors of the Holocaust have openly come out in opposition to Israel’s siege of Gaza. Here’s a short excerpt of what they said,
“As Jewish survivors and descendents of survivors of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.”
Many Americans are apathetic to the struggle of the Palestinian people, but it should be noted that the US taxpayers fund much of the military equipment that is used by Israel via military aid appropriated by Congress.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nick Bernabe is the owner and lead editor of the website TheAntiMedia.org, an activist, blogger, and the founder and spokesman of the March Against Monsanto movement. He is also a guest contributor to The Mind Unleashed.
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