Sunday, June 7, 2009

To me, the saying “Never Again” - is serious.

By the end of 1945 the Second World War was over. This six year war ended with 49 million civilian deaths. Some of these were quick deaths caused by an artillery strike or sniper bullet. Others deaths were slow and painful resulting from starvation and diseases. Six million of these people died inside “camps” after suffering calculated humiliations, torture and extermination practices carried out by Nazi Germany under Hitler’s command; they meant to ethnically cleanse the world of all Jewish people & their supporters. After uncountable numbers of horrifyingly gruesome survival tales were revealed to the world, the global community responded by saying “Never Again” to genocide.

           

It was May 14, 1948 when the British government relinquished its colonial grip on Jerusalem and the Palestinian territory. Coincidentally, immediately after the British withdrawal, the radical Zionist movement, (backed strongly by western powers), declared Israel the first Jewish state, ignoring the lives and rights of the people already living there. This day is known to Palestinians as ‘Nakba’, the great catastrophe. The Israeli military forced over 700,000 Palestinians off their land, forcibly changing their status from resident to refugee. Displaced from their homeland, the Palestinians continue even today, to have their land and lives robbed from them to make room for the natural growth of the illegitimate ‘new owners’.


60 years after the words “Never Again” resounded around the globe, the Palestinian people still live in an Apartheid state. Over the past few years we have witnessed the building of the Israeli ‘security wall’ (Apartheid Wall). This cement wall surrounds the West Bank and Gaza cutting off Palestinian’s access to their farms, water, jobs and in some cases splitting families apart; this wall makes the Palestinian territories an open aired prison. With endless checkpoints and towers in the Israeli occupied territories movement and medical aid between villages has become nearly impossible.


I became aware of these acts of ethnic cleansing around the time I began considering photography as a profession. Studying the Middle East and meeting Zoriah helped me find the intended focus of my photographs, in crisis and humanitarian issues. I was unsure of where I would travel to start this career, until December 27th, 2008. It was then that Israel launched ‘Operation Cast Lead’, which is commonly known as the ‘War on Gaza’. This massacre left over 5,000 wounded and 1,400 Palestinians dead; a huge portion were innocent woman, men and, it is estimated, 500 of these recently deceased were children! The Israeli military destroyed hospitals, mosques, schools and United Nations aid buildings as well as 4,000 homes, leaving 50,800 Palestinians homeless (but still trapped in Gaza). Israel has gone through great lengths to keep their war crimes out of the media’s lens; for several years they have accomplished this goal, leaving most people around the world unaware of the atrocities committed in the name of self defense. 


To me, the saying “Never again” is not a slogan meant to pacify people after WWII. It is a commitment the world made to stop ethnic cleansing and genocide wherever they occur! The world can no longer renege on this commitment by watching Israel continue these heinous deeds against Palestine and its people. As with the South African apartheid, we must come together to globally boycott, divest and demand sanctions against Israel. Fighting this Zionist oppression does not make you anti-Semitic; this is a common strategy Israel uses to keep people from questioning their actions. Israel must stop this! If they keep screaming anti-Semitism when people investigate their monstrous crusade of injustice they may find themselves in a ‘boy who cried wolf’ scenario when real anti-Semitism shows its face.

For Palestine this “conflict” is about basic humanitarian rights and survival. As a photojournalist, an activist and a human being I chose to dedicate my life to covering these critical issues in Palestine and across the world. I will focus many of my projects in the Middle East and other areas being destroyed by racist post-colonial systems and American imperialism.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Future's Children

In my life I am lucky to have the presence of some amazing children. I often observe these care-free spirits laughing and playing games only they understand. When I look at these children I cannot help but think of the mess they are inheriting. I wonder what they will do with the aftermath of our mistakes. I think of all the children who were not born into a comfortable life, who are forced so young to work 12 hour days for one dollar-or Less and my heart hurts! Children who salvage their toys from trashed washed up on the shore and who sometimes go days with one or no meals, who will never know what it was like to be a care-free 5 year old.


Throughout my future travels I will attempt to capture the amazing resilience children have to situations in which their survival seems impossible to others. We can learn a great many things from watching children interact with the world; and their imaginations open inspiring windows into their hearts. I would like to share with you one of the many children in my life that has inspired me to work for the rights of children all over the globe.


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Olympia, WA


Olympia, WA

Courage in Dissenting

Signs are flown in protest of "Stop-Loss"                                                        Tacoma, WA


A few weeks ago several people were arrested while using their bodies to block the streets to the Port of Tacoma, WA. This was part of a continuing direct action movement protesting the militarization of Washington Ports. Military equipment, mainly striker vehicles, are being deployed or redeployed to Afghanistan and Iraq through our local ports! The equipment was eventually able to be moved to a secured location over several nights, while most people slept. It is important that we continue to protest and take direct action to demilitarize our ports and keep these wars and all their costs in the public eye, especially when our government tries to make protesting of these shipments invisible.


Days after the striker shipments a crowd of protestors gathered to protest stop-loss, “Don’t ask/Don’t tell”, and to show support for the 10,000 soldiers being deployed from Fort Lewis to Afghanistan by protesting the war. This ‘operation’ is quickly becoming known as ‘Obama’s War’ as a result of his pledge of an additional 40,000 troops to the cause. I cringe when I hear it referred to as “the good war”-as if there is such a thing! 


All ages of people showed up to Freedom Bridge (a main overpass along Interstate 5), to support the troops, encourage them to know their rights and protest the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq! Many demonstrators are currently enlisted soldiers; veterans of the Iraq and/or Afghanistan war that have dissented from the military by refusing to be deployed. After being exposed to war and occupation firsthand, to the horrors and injustices, these courageous soldiers have found the strength to resist! The number of dissenting soldiers is on the rise and hopefully, like in past wars the army will be forced to change its war mongering-politics, military strategy and withdrawal from these imperialistic wars and illegal occupations! Our soldiers will accomplish nothing but putting their lives in danger by further interrupting the lives and self determination of the countries of the Middle East! War is fought for old men with the lives and courage of young boys. Only death & destruction are the only sustainable products of war! 


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Protest for peace over Interstate 5.         Tacoma WA

Soldiers still being deployed to Afghanistan wonder if Obama's military strategy is any different.


American peace flag flown over "Freedom Bridge" Tacoma,  WA.