“Our common humanity.”
‘Palestinian Voices,’ an update.
Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?” The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now. —Aaron Bushnell
28 FEBRUARY—Having announced our “Palestinian Voices” project, we are immensely pleased with the initial response to our fundraising campaign. We could not be more grateful to each and every one of those who have made contributions. Among the donors we see many new names and recognize old friends as well. Thank you!
We have so far met a little over one third of our $6,500 funding goal. This includes several pledges of support in the form of checks to arrive by mail.
If we were to apportion the funds received thus far, it would more or less cover air travel. Still to go are on-the-ground costs—accommodations, sustenance, compensation for interpreters and guides. We know how to stretch a dollar and have budgeted carefully. We can get this done if we meet our funding objective. And so we now make a further appeal for your help. All of the legwork, reporting, and writing that is to come will be an uncompensated labor of love—and gladly so.
If you have not yet made a donation, please consider joining us to bring Palestinian voices, experiences, and perspectives to readers of The Floutist and beyond. Genocide and ethnic cleansing are possible only when a people are systematically dehumanized, silenced, and made invisible. To re-humanize is one way to describe our project. We hope you will help us make Palestinian voices widely heard beyond Palestine. Doing so is a way of honoring our shared humanity.
If you have already donated, please spread the word through friends and social media. You can share our initial fundraising appeal, found here, and also direct people to the GoFundMe campaign: Palestinian Voices. And please ask your friends to help spread the word.
As a reminder of what is at stake: Even as we draft this update, Israel is bombing Rafah, where 1.5 million refugees are sheltering in subhuman conditions. Infectious diseases spread, just as international health authorities warned months ago. Children are now starving to death. The healthcare system has collapsed, and Israel is limiting the amount of aid that can enter Gaza. As recently reported in The New York Times, unless there is an immediate ceasefire and release of humanitarian aid, war and illness could kill an additional 85,000 Palestinians over the next six months.
We cannot sit still for this.
Atop of the continued slaughter in Gaza, settler violence directed at Palestinians— and supported by the IDF—is escalating in the West Bank. We must all do what we can to help bring this unbearable humanitarian crisis—and indeed, these war crimes—to an end.
If you have already donated, please spread the word. If you have not, please consider a contribution and also spread the word.
You can donate here at GoFundMe: Palestinian Voices.
GoFundMe accepts debit and credit cards, PayPal, Venmo, and Google Pay. Alternatively, you can send a check to this address:Cara MariAnna 2211 Teal Court Bellingham, WA 98229
As earlier noted, donors who give up to $50 will get a six-month subscription to The Floutist. Everyone who makes a donation of $50 or more will get a one-year subscription. All donors will have priority access to Cara’s reporting during and after her journey.
If you make a donation, please be sure to send us your email address so we can arrange for your complimentary subscription: winterwheat7@gmail.com
Thank you.
C. M. and P. L.
Dedicated, with gratitude for the example of his integrity, to the memory of Aaron Bushnell.
