Dear Western Friends

Your silence is clear and deafening.

Your lack of response is unmistakably loud and noticeable.

If by now you can’t,
See the hypocrisy,
See the double standards,
See media bias, and question your own.

Then there is more to say

For years, I’ve educated myself with issues that are important to you,
What you call:

Human rights
Equity
Decolonisation
Inclusion

To be a better ally
An inclusive and understanding participant in your spaces.
Now it’s your time to educate yourself
I can’t do the work for you.
For all those calling themselves social injustice worries, where are you now?
If this is not social injustice, then what is?

I will not spend my time quoting all the people and organisations
calling out for justice.

I know I’m not alone in this; thousands, if not millions, worldwide are speaking up, do your work.

I’m no longer interested in educating you.
I’m no longer interested in formulating my words to fit in,
No longer interested in apologising.
I am no longer willing to fit in a space where I must work hard to make space and understanding for myself in your world.

To all my teachers who are silent now
Who are not willing to speak up
Or didn’t educate themselves enough to be able to speak up:
Thank you for your learning; I’m grateful to be able to listen to every cell in my being that is screaming for me to write this.

Now it’s time for you to listen,
learn and question your own bias,
you have a long way to go.
The world will no longer be the world we lived in ten days ago.

For those who did speak up, thank you. You show me you do the work that you taught me to do.

There is no excuse not to be aware.
There is no excuse not to question.
There is no excuse not to know.

If you are choosing not to, then contrary to the title, I’m no longer interested in being friends.

To be clear
I’m talking about Palestine.

p.s I’m writing this for me; I needed to write it and let it be. My body asked me to.