Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog

Would Nawaz Sharif ignore a customized drone if it hit an aircraft?

(Photo WABC)

PAKISTAN…

What has happened to Pakistan’s drone activists… this is not the time to be selective… you are either for or against the use of drones… the silence is shameful!

On Wednesday two missiles from a US drone were reported to have been fired at alleged insurgents at a compound in Datta Khel, Waziristan, the tribal area of Pakistan. No names have been released of the dead through official sources are claiming 7 (alleged) militants.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claimed several months ago to be against US drone strikes but his failure to speak out in recent times and lack of action suggests he no longer has a problem with a foreign aircraft entering Pakistan’s airspace.

Imran Khan, chairman of opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) usually so outspoken on drones has been remarkably quiet also since the start of military Operation Zarb -e-Asb (named after the sword of the Prophet Muhammad) intended to clear local and foreign militants from N Waziristan.

This prolonged assault has displaced an estimated 1 million locals who have for some time been on the receiving end of drones, other aerial attacks and shelling and are now forced to abandon their homes and all they own. Their anger is no longer so contained as was seen yesterday in a demonstration by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Peshawar that were complaining of being ignored by officials.

Angry IDPs Peshawar, hit by drones, other aerial attacks and now displaced (Photo via Aamir Saeed)

Sharif and the military may be able to turn a blind eye to US drone strikes. They probably have a fair idea who will be the next likely targets within a limited area, Waziristan (and Pakistan may well be sharing intelligence and actively assisting on the ground) but will they be so complacent when drones start hitting Pakistan’s cities?

I have no doubt that this will happen. The next drones may not be US military drones but could be customized “payback” drones as insurgents develop the technology to hit back. There is already claims to suggest Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular may be exploring such possibilities.

On 4th August ABC News highlighted concerns regarding “the potential dangers of drones in the skies over New York, after a string of close calls with passenger jets” referring to 11 incidents in 30 days,. These were not large armed drones but those for personal use. They stated,

“the worry is that those small drones could do big damage to jetliners filled with passengers”

and

“the biggest worry is that one of these drones can be ingested by a jet engine at high power on takeoff, for instance, and shut the engine down,” (according to aviation analyst John Nance)

So what is to stop an insurgent aiming a small drone armed or unarmed at a plane or building? Is this happened Sharif would not have a moral leg to stand on given his utter complacency when drones attack Pakistan.

IRAQ

Alleged MQ-1 Predator drone filmed over Mosul, Iraq (photo, via David Cenciotti)

On Wednesday the BBC reported that at least 60 people have been killed in an Iraqi air strike on a building under Sunni militant control in the northern city of Mosul, officials say. There was some suggestion a drone may have been used with the intended target being an Islamic court used by jihadists according to a military spokesman for the prime minister. However Medical sources claimed a prison run by the Islamic State (IS) had been hit.

Photographs and a video were posted online earlier on 25th July suggesting that an armed US predator drone had been spotted over Mosul…a warning that strikes would likely follow. Prior to this there was also a media debate mentioned in the Washington Times about the possibility and criteria for America adding IS Caliph Abu bakr al Baghdadi to the list of drone targets (discussed with Washington Defense officials at the Pentagon). It was determined that al-Baghdadi would have to constitute a threat to the US and its interests for a strike to take place.

One more recent article that jumped out at me related to drones and Iraq was the journey of Mark Arabo, CEO of the Neighborhood Market Association in San Diego to deliver a message for President Barack Obama. This gentleman was  said to be leading a coalition of people who represent Chaldean Catholics in the Middle East to meet with National Security Advisor Susan Rice and possibly with Secretary of State John Kerry. In his desire to help Christians alleged to be fleeing Mosul to escape persecution from IS, the Times of San Diego reported that Arabo planned to ask for targeted drone strikes against IS.

If Obama has indeed targeted IS by drone, an obvious question would be why is he so active here but not so regarding protecting the majority Muslim population of the Gaza strip that has seen a ferocious onslaught from Israel, (including drones) that have killed and injured thousands of civilians who cannot escape this tiny area of land. Imagine the outrage if Obama targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by drone yet he has been labelled a “terrorist” by several Latin American countries for alleged “war crimes”.

Why is alleged “terrorist” Benjamin Netanyahu on US “kill list”?

(Photo RT)

Any use of drones on IS but not Israel would only demonstrate the gross double standards and bizarre selection process that condemns one person to death but not another. One could argue that Netanyahu is in fact threatening the stability of the US by his actions also, what if the peaceful protests in the US in support of Gaza suddenly turn violent and threatens the safety of Jewish communities? As US terrorism analyst Max Abrahms has been keen to show lately, the incidents of racism and aggression towards Jews since the attack on Gaza have in some areas doubled.

Fox News reported that Bill Reilly of The Reilly Factor in his programme, The Rise of anti–Semitism asked Steve Bucci (Heritage Foundation) “how bad is this current anti-Semitism? Is it a dangerous situation or just an annoyance?”

Bucci replied, “well, I have to say, Bill, it’s way more than an annoyance. As you mentioned in your examples, we have problems with it here, (America), Europe is far worse. They have had major riots that have not just been anti-Israeli policy, but are blatantly anti-Jewish.”

Obama should indeed review his use of drones. If he is not careful he might find himself visited by other community leaders and this time they will be calling for a drone with Netanyahu’s name on the side! Why is is that insurgents are placed on a kill list but state terrorists are left to their deadly devices!

Civilians in Gaza rescue household items after bombardment which includes Israeli drones (photos Rina Andolini)

The very same question could be asked of Prime Minister David Cameron as the UK is so busy killing hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan by drone to protect British troops as reported in the Mirror this week. So why does the UK drone programme not extend to targeting an Israeli “terrorist” to protect the civilians of Gaza targeted in their homes, schools and hospitals?

I am someone who is totally against the use of armed drones but I feel its important to point out the hypocrisy of these leaders whose double standards are astounding. The drone has become not only a weapon of mass destruction killing many innocent civilians but also a weapon that glorifies racism as the overwhelming majority of those targeted by drone are in fact Muslims! When was the last time you heard of a Jew, Buddhist, Christian or Hindu killed by a drone?

Protesters occupy the roof of a “drone” factory, Shenstone (left) and one of Gaza’s tiny victims (right) 

London Palestine Action, a network of people in London taking creative action against Israeli apartheid through Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) began a roof-top protest at Shenstone, Staffordshire where parts are produced for military drones. Activists shut down a factory, calling on the British government to “Stop Arming Israel” from UAV Engines Ltd and for bosses to be arrested. They claim that drone engines manufactured at the factory have been exported to Israel in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Protesters tweeted that they were locked on the edge of the roof at a subsidiary of a company called Elbit (owned by Israel) ready to peacefully resist with enough supplies to keep them going for a week. Highlighting what has become an international campaign for BDS they had a strong message for Prime Minister David Cameron stating,

“by allowing this factory to export drone components to Israel, UK government is providing direct support and approval to Israel’s massacres.” 

Attention was drawn to claims that since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli military assault on Gaza, Elbit Systems shares have climbed 6.1 percent. Killing is a profitable business!

Activists wear “boycott Israel” T -shirts (left) and wave the Palestinian flag (right) 

The Guardian reports that according to Downing Street, the British government is now reviewing the sale of £8bn in arms and military goods to Israel to see whether each licence is appropriate in light of the conflict in Gaza. There have been accusations of “war crimes” from human rights groups with the United Nations calling the bombing of schools “a moral outrage”.

International pressure is growing. Haaretz  just announced that Spain has decided on a temporary freeze on arms exports to Israel. Other news emerged that Baronness Warsi has now quit as Foreign Office minister for Gaza claiming British government policy on the crisis in Gaza is “morally indefensible”. Bolivian President Evo Morales has gone as far as labelling Israel a “terrorist state” and Israelis must now have visas to visit. Meanwhile El Salvador, Chile and Peru recalled their ambassadors back home and more moves are anticipated from other Latin American countries.

The London Palestine protesters urged others to join them and stated that they were occupying their time reading classics such as John Roses, “The Myths of Zionism” and Ben White’s “Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s guide” a clear swipe at the policies of the Benjamin Netanyahu government.

As fire-engines arrived at the scene and police took to roof level in a cherry-picker, one protester tweeted a photo of the emergency services, saying “this is who’s coming to get us. Not easy tweeting with a d-lock round your neck but we’ll keep trying.”

The plight of the Palestinian people has had an emotional impact on many, one police woman in the crane was said to be crying as an activist who lived in Gaza told her the story of the Samouni family who lost 29 loved ones. The roof protesters claim that “Elbit markets its drone technology as ‘battle tested’ a sickening boast that their drones have been proven effective at killing Palestinians.”

Hospital workers in Gaza face burnt and mutilated remains (left) while the bodies of babies over-spill at morgues (right), some having to be kept in ice-cream freezers there are so many

Amnesty International (UK) gave support via Arms Programme Campaign Manager Oliver Sprague who released the following statement,

“It’s understandable that protesters are targeting UAV Engines given past concerns about the company supplying Israel with engines for drones.

“The government has previously claimed UAV Engines is only licensed to sell drone engines to Israel for onward export, but the fear is that this Israeli-owned company’s engines are actually powering Israeli drones over Gaza, or that the technology is being copied to allow Israel to fly its drone vehicles.

“Do we really want to see engines from Lichfield helping the Israeli military carry out war crimes in Gaza? Quite frankly no UK-based company should currently be supplying the Israeli military with any arms or equipment.

“Before these protests escalate, Downing Street should announce an immediate suspension of any further arms to Israel. We should not be complicit in war crimes.”

Women of Gaza mourn their losses

This is not the first time the Shenstone factory has drawn attention. Back in February 2014, a “Power of Prayer” meeting took place to focus on concerns regarding use of armed drones. It was attended by students from The Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Professor John Hull of The Queen’s Foundation also penned a letter urging UAV to reconsider their role in the arms trade. He wrote,

“Drones using the engines made in this factory have killed, and will no doubt continue to kill, innocent women, men and children. Many of you will have families of your own and will be able to imagine the pain of those families whose members suffer death and appalling injuries from the drones made in this factory.”

“We believe that God, the God of Christians, Jews and Muslims who represents the universal conscience of humanity, is the source of peace and justice and that we will all stand before God on the judgement day.  We urge you to amend the nature and purpose of your activities to peaceful, non-military applications.”

“We have no ill will towards you personally and hope that your skills and talents can be put to use making alternative products that will benefit people and make their lives better.”

A young boy in Vienna protests today at killing of Palestinian children (left) and young girl Aseel Bakri is killed yesterday in an airstrike on Gaza (right)

As far back as 2009, Human Rights Watch released a 39 page report “Precisely Wrong: Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone–Launched Missiles,” which detailed six incidents resulting in 29 civilian deaths, among them eight children. HRW found that,

“Israeli forces failed to take all feasible precautions to verify that these targets were combatants, as required by the laws of war, or that they failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups have reported a total of 42 drone attacks that killed civilians, 87 in all, during the fighting in December 2008 and January 2009″

In recent days (July, 2014) a friend in Gaza tweeted that his young neighbour has been killed in a drone strike and that not long after the boy’s mother has collapsed and in his word’s, “died of a broken heart”.

It seems that activists may remain on the roof for some some time to come as attempts to bring them down have so far failed. Support for their actions are building, though additional protesters are being kept away from the site. The latest word is that they are attempting to live-stream their efforts with campaigner Adie Nistelrooy and others giving speeches from their perch. As a long time anti-drone activist myself, I wish them every success, to remain silent now is to be complicit in the most hideous of crimes!

Devastation of military ops, Waziristan (left) and father of 4 dies of sunstroke during displacement, surrounded by his children (right) photo via Ihsan Tipu

In recent weeks the world has watched in horror as Gaza is subjected to a ferocious onslaught of Israeli state terror directed mostly against civilians. The latest operation named Protective Edge against US designated “terrorist” group Hamas is partly financed by the US that continues to supply arms to Israel. As investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald points out in the Intercept,

“the new (Edward) Snowden documents illustrate a crucial fact: Israeli aggression would be impossible without the constant, lavish support and protection of the US government, which is anything but a neutral, peace-brokering party in these attacks. And the relationship between the NSA (National Security Agency) and its partners on the one hand, and the Israeli spying agency on the other, is at the center of that enabling”

Israel appears to be using this American support to put their own version of the Nazis “final solution” policy into practice using collective punishment and ethnic cleansing… Could it get much worse? Yes it could and very likely WILL get much worse. The latest horror to unfold is hearing via Reuters that US, Deputy Secretary of State, Bill Burns and ex British Prime Minister Tony Blair are expected to fly to Cairo for “negotiations” on Gaza which will include delegations representing Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Now let us remind ourselves that Blair (along with George Bush) was tried in his absence as a “war criminal” at a tribunal of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, Malaysia, 2011 for his role in the Iraq war. The initiative was modelled on the Nuremberg principles applied to bring the Nazis to justice following World War Two. A petition is currently circulating for the totally unsuitable Blair to be removed as a Middle East peace envoy.

Bus declaring Blair a war criminal tours London

At a time when politicians and human rights activists are very much focused on the situation in Gaza, another part of the world remains largely and deliberately hidden from view… the region of North Waziristan in Pakistan, an area I coined some time ago “the Gaza of Pakistan”. This is where Bill Burns also comes into play.

Before the nightmare of Operation “Protective Edge” began on Gaza, the Pakistan military launched an offensive against militants in North Waziristan six weeks ago named Operation “Zarb -e-Asb” after Prophet Muhammad’s sword (or as I prefer to call the operation “fall on your sword”)! Bill Burns visited Pakistan piling on the pressure to eliminate insurgents as part of the US War of Terror completely failing to address the part US foreign policy has in stoking the flames of insurgency around the world. Shortly after the Burns trip, it was announced that financial aid from the US would be directly linked to the success of military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). To carry out the orders of Washington meant forcibly removing around 1 million tribal people not involved in terrorist activities from their homes and into camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Bill Burns, US, (photo Al Monitor)  demands elimination of militants (left) and Musharraf, Pakistan, wanted to kill Pashtuns (right)

Tribal people, predominantly Pashtuns are often treated as second class citizens in Pakistan and still suffer under draconian law left over from British colonial rule which affects their human rights. They are caught between the Pakistan military and insurgents with little security.

Former President Pervez Musharraf (now on trial for treason), rather like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Palestinians, favoured a policy of elimination receiving “dollars for deaths.” R.S Mohmand quoted Musharraf as saying,”Pashtuns are a bone of contention; I have asked Americans to kill them too in Afghanistan as I would kill them in Pakistan.” Indeed he did kill Pashtuns in Pakistan by secretly supporting the US drone programme which disposed of many innocent civilians, others, he allegedly sold to the US as “terrorists” without trial, some ending up in Guantanamo Bay.

From the start, serious concerns were raised about Operation Zarb -e-Asb. Bombing allegedly began BEFORE civilians could clear the affected areas. Locals repeatedly stated that the main militant leaders of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Haqqani and other groups had advance intelligence meaning they already left for safer territory and alleging that those being targeted were largely non-combatants.

Haji Saleem Khan, a 60 year old taxi driver from Shawal told the Express Tribune that the air attacks aimed at militants were not as surgically accurate as claimed, stating, “they killed women and children in the air strikes, I myself took out dead bodies from under the rubble.” These claims were frequently repeated by others including in Newsweek Pakistan where the alleged deaths of 37 civilians were reported. As Wali Muhammad, a 28 year old shopkeeper put so well, “you can’t cover up the sun with a finger” a Pashto expression meaning the truth will come out.

There does not appear to have been any legal opinion sought or discussed regarding the rights of those displaced and their suffering is viewed by nationalistic Pakistanis (in the comfort of their own homes) as a “necessary sacrifice” for the country. I wonder if the same attitude would have been adopted if residents in cities has been uprooted from their gated communities and forced to leave all their worldly belongings behind.

Many of the same Pakistanis that are so critical of actions in Gaza have turned a blind eye to the distress of their own citizens and previous Pakistan government with the usual double standards appear to have had no qualms about conducting business with Israel which has so oppressed the Palestinians. These business dealings may still be going on. According to a British report detailed in Haaretz, the following is revealed,

” in 2011 Israel sought to purchase British components to export radar systems to Pakistan, as well as electronic warfare systems, Head-up Cockpit Displays ‏(HUD‏), parts for fighter jets and aircraft engines, optic target acquisition systems, components of training aircraft, and military electronic systems. In 2010, Israel applied for permits to export electronic warfare systems and HUDs with components from Britain to Pakistan”

Could any of the afore mentioned systems have been used on the residents of North Waziristan in recent times?

Humans and animals dying on route (left) and waiting for food rations (right) photos via Abdul Rehman Dawar

Regarding IDPs, there was a distinct lack of planning from the Nawaz Sharif government to provide adequate transport for fleeing civilians to travel from North Waziristan to “safe” areas such as Bannu. Men, women and children walked up to 60km in their thousands during a heatwave, covering long distances often taking along their livestock. Humans and animals died on route through sunstroke and exhaustion, unable to access water. Women gave birth by the side of the road. Sick and elderly relatives had to be left behind in their homes too frail to complete the journey. Families in transit lost contact with each other in a sea of bodies.

Some IDPs headed over the border into Afghanistan gathering around Khost where they felt they would receive a warmer welcome (a bone of contention with the Pakistan government) and then proceeded to burn the Pakistani flag in anger at their displacement.

When IDPs got to Bannu, most were afraid to migrate to the army camps and went instead to private homes which put additional pressure on impoverished locals with limited resources. From those that did use government facilities, there were tales of scorpian infested camps built in the wrong places, long waits, difficulties in registering and receiving rations (especially for widows and second wives) lack of medical care and even IDPs allegedly being beaten by local police as they protested at conditions. What has made matters worse is a growing disillusionment at the way this tragedy is being reported with little confidence in the ISPR (Inter Services Public Relation) few believing the figures of militant deaths are accurate. There is equal confusion over who has been captured as it seems there is a reluctance by the military to publish names of insurgents.

Home is now a tent (left) and displaced children with their education interrupted (photos via Abdul Rehman Dawar)

Journalists have raised their own concerns that they have been unable to get into Waziristan to report the operation and some were told to “kill” stories that showed the situation of IDPs in a negative light. One writer highlighted that reporters that knew the area and might ask probing questions were being sidelined on official visits with the military who appear to be favouring those not so familiar with the region.

There are few genuinely on the side of IDPs. Even opposition party leader, Imran Khan Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf (PTI) known for his fight against the use of US drones who has often spoken up for tribal people seems to have caved in under pressure stating his support for the military operation. He does however continually bemoan the lack of finance and resources to cater for the needs of IDPs. Khan did turn up to spend Eid with displaced persons but there was little to celebrate for those that have lost family members and their homes.

Bill Burns (steering clear of IDPs) has made time recently to make sure Pakistan remains compliant in doing what the US wants by meeting with Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the PM on foreign affairs,

“a statement issued by the Pakistan Embassy said Mr Burns appreciated Pakis­tan’s stabilising role in the region and reiterated the US support for prime minister’s economic development plan with special focus on energy and fighting extremism”

This of course has enabled Pakistan to go back to Burns with a begging bowl for reimbursing funds for the military operation and according to DAWN media “whatever equipment and weapons Pakistan might need for combating the Taliban”. For its part, the US that claims to champion human rights seems happy to turn a blind eye to Pakistan’s practice of “disappearing” people, torture in custody and extra judicial killing, the hallmarks of state terrorism. Though given the human rights record of the US, it would be a case of “the kettle calling the pot black”.

One of the reasons recent “peaces talks” failed was the refusal of the Pakistan government to address state terrorism which the Taliban continually pointed out by highlighting treatment of those detained by authorities and alleged dumped bodies of militants. After waiting 3 weeks for politicians to respond to a letter detailing concerns, Taliban realizing they would get no answers responded by killing 23 Frontier Corps men in their custody, lives that might have been saved if peace talks had been taken seriously and key issues discussed with honesty.

So finally back to Gaza. What schemes will Burns and Blair conjure up together during negotiations? One can only speculate and say a very big prayer for the locals. With those two in possible collaboration, there is little hope for any improvement for better conditions and freedom, it is likely there will be only more tears and pain for the ever suffering Palestinians.

( My hearts voice on the 9^th abduction anniversary of Masood Ahmed Janjua –an innocent victim of the war on terror- an illegal secret detainee in Pakistan )

Masood Ahmad Janjua , a famous businessman and educator of Rawalpindi disappeared mysteriously on 30^th July 2005, enroute to Peshawar along with his friend Faisal Faraz. As the tragedy shook the two families it also shook the political scenario of Pakistan – when it was found to be illegal kidnapping in the wake of the War on Terror, it was strongly and courageously protested as never before. It was the reign of terror of President Musharraf in 2005, now facing criminal charges against breaking the constitution, his illegal activities and human rights violations. This commando president was at his peak of power and atrocities, who admits in his book …that Pakistan has taken bounties for handing over people to the CIA, but his illegal abductions were challenged on the streets by a simple house wife. This showing an undeniable reality that any simple and shy woman can turn into a lioness if her love will be snatched and her home attacked.

Out of thousands of those who were never given a chance to plead innocence or just to be a person in the eyes of law, to be allowed to have fundamental human rights, to enjoy an inalienable right of liberty and freedom, as guaranteed in the constitution of Pakistan, one was Masood my loving husband.

As a loving caring and beautiful person as he was, it is simply impossible to forget his soul or even dim the awesome memories surrounding his charismatic personality, no wonder pangs of love and longing are so strongly felt about his disappearance. In the loving memory of Masood, on his 9^th abduction anniversary today 30^th July 2014, I want to relive the day he departed.

Me and Masood were having breakfast together, it was a nice sunny Saturday of 30^th July 2005 and our kids were sleeping. We took fried eggs with bread and milk. Masood joked and made me laugh as usual as he knew I never liked the idea of him being away even for a single day. Something to be truly proud of; we were one exceptionally close and loving couple ever to be present on the face of this planet. His cell rang, Faisal was on the other side, we are getting late will you please hurry and reach the bus stop. Since they had to visit a common friend, Masood said sure I am just leaving and will be there in 10 minutes. Their seats were booked in Daewoo bus service for 10 am. Quickly he finished breakfast and picked up a bag with one brown colour suit in it. Bearing a lively expression, his typical broad smile on the face and wearing white shalwar and shirt suit , he looked extremely handsome. Next he told me to take care of myself and the kids as he will be away for 3 days. He lovingly held me close to him, comforted me and then we both stepped down the stairs hand in hand. I always said goodbye to Masood on the gate even when he would go to office, so that day too I accompanied him and bid him goodbye. I watched him go till I could not see him anymore. I never knew that my world would darken from the very same day ….!!!

Campaigning for 9 years on behalf of families of missing persons

After that day till today I have not seen him, he disappeared from my life and from the life of our three kids without whom he couldn’t imagine living and from the lives of all who loved him, leaving behind an all time piercing dagger pain in our hearts. I cried, I protested, I shook the world, I struggled to get justice and knocked at the doors of everyone in the corridors of power, I ran pillar to post to find answers but to no avail. I could not find Masood no matter how desperate I was, no matter how courageously I fought throughout these 9 years, against this grave violation of illegal abductions and enforced disappearances.

I have not given up, nor the nerve breaking struggle has exhausted my soul, rather it has strengthened my spirit and given me a new dimensions in sacrifice, new parameters in love and new heights in courage.

I waged a war against those individuals or governments or institutions which practice cruelties, torture humanity without reason, make a mockery of human rights and justice –those perpetrators of a heinous crime of snatching loved ones away forcefully and disappearing them for years and years. I can never forgive them for ruining happy homes and taking smiles away from the faces of young children and for breaking the hearts of loving wives/mothers and sisters.

I collected data and registered 2000 victims of enforced disappearance, I filed nearly 800 cases in the supreme court and advocated for them since 2006, I protested on the roads in day and night camps along with the aggrieved families, I was tortured, beaten and arrested for raising the unchallengeable voice for the disappeared, I travelled far and wide to raise awareness, met highest of officials of UN and world Human Rights bodies, head of the states, parliamentarians of Pakistan and of the influential western world but no matter what I did or where I went, the pain of longing was always with me.

The golden memories of Masood and dreams of his coming back are the only hope me and my children stick to. The children grew up, become big with time, so did the grief, it grew up too and it became bigger. Listen all those who have a heart and who care; no matter how much time has passed, me and my children are never going to come to terms with this dilemma, I want tell this to the world today. Our hearts have engulfed the pain of all the disappeared loved-ones and bearing the pangs of separation has given us a strong determination to fight for our Loved-one. This sacred mission is to bring back Masood and all the innocent loved ones safely home who are subjected to enforced disappearance.

We know what a mother feels when she waits for her disappeared son, when she remains bedridden for years as the wait is too painful , and then eventually dies with a dream unfulfilled .We know why families cry when their loved one die, killed in wars or forcefully taken away as illegal prisoners. The grief is that of all the aggrieved families of Gaza who are being killed by brutal bombings of irrational forces. What a father feels burying his beloved babies torn to pieces. Our hearts bleed with the same pain when a Waziristan based mother leaves behind dead bodies of her sons and burns in agony for others separated in ambush.

“Justice delayed is justice denied”

Masood has given us a big heart to feel for the pain of all the suffering, crushing and dying humanity. For me and my kids, Masood is not one person now he is a movement in search of justice and truth. He is an icon of hope for all the oppressed and aggrieved who are devoid of justice and their basic fundamental Human rights flagrantly violated. Masood is a passion of not giving up and never stopping unless motive is achieved.

He is a story of an unimaginable love, immense and boundless for everyone everywhere- across the globe.

Amina Masood Janjua

Chairperson

Defence of Human Rights, Pakistan

For solidarity and support email, inbox : chairpersondhr@gmail.com , mrsjanjua@gmail.com

Gaza, a modern day holocaust?

It has long been a concern of mine that the word “holocaust” is viewed by many as a term that can only be used in association with the terrible atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews during World War Two.

Holocaust is defined as follows:-

1) destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war,#

eg ” a nuclear holocaust”

synonyms: cataclysm, disaster, catastrophe, destruction, devastation, demolition, annihilation

2) historical

a Jewish sacrificial offering which was burnt completely on an altar.

There is also “the holocaust” which refers to the genocide of approximately 11 million innocent civilians including 6 million Jews under the regime of Adolf Hitler which occured predominantly between 1941 and 1945.

Transported to Auschwitz, a holocaust victim, Second World War

Say the word “holocaust” and often it is automatically equated with the word “Jews”. However the terrible slaughter of that period also included extermination of Gypsies, Roma (samudaripen, mass killing), Slavs, communists, homosexuals, the mentally and physically disabled and others.

As someone who has visited Auschwitz and openly wept during my exploration of the two sites, Auschwitz-Birkenau, I vowed always to speak out against discrimination and injustice.

It is impossible to forget the enormous piles of suitcases, spectacles, face cream, toothbrushes, false limbs and hair, from floor to ceiling, taken from those transported daily to the concentration camps via the death trains. Who could block out the horror of standing in the “shower room” where naked women and children were herded to cleanse themselves in false hope before realizing the ultimate terror of the gas chambers.

Primo Levo, author and holocaust survivor said, “I am constantly amazed by man’s inhumanity to man.”  He also stated, “monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”

During my lifetime I have noticed a ghastly exclusivity claimed by some in relation to the word holocaust, especially among Zionists in Israel who will use intimidation and emotional blackmail in an effort to portray themselves as the foremost bearers of inherited suffering as if there was some gross, measurable scale. There is a high risk of being labelled a holocaust denier if one even suggests that total “ownership” of a word is to deny the deaths of thousands of other victims in different “holocausts”.

I would never deny the Jewish holocaust but I will ensure that questions are raised and ALL other holocausts are remembered. When people talk of holocaust dont forget to ask “which one”?

Holocaust perpetrated by European settlers in America

Let us remind ourselves of other genocides which could be termed a holocaust. Here are a few but by no means exclusive, mass killing of Native Americans, Aborigines, Blacks slaughtered as a result of slavery. Then we have the crimes committed during colonial times, massacre of Indians, Malaysians, Mau Mau and many other peoples and communities. The extermination of the Rohingya today could justifiably be termed a Muslim holocaust and genocide against both Christian and Muslim communities in African countries deemed holocausts too. We also have the wars initiated by the US and her allies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Asad’s terror on the Syrian population, murder of civilians in Egypt Kashmir, Libya and sectarian killings. There is also a case for including cumulative drone assassinations destroying the lives of many innocent people, written off as “collateral damage”.

What exactly constitutes a “mass scale” catastrophe which would indicate a “holocaust” is up for debate as there are no defined figures in terms of numbers of victims. Are we talking tens, hundreds, thousands, ten of thousands… the important thing is that we keep on talking and highlighting atrocities.

Take the current Israeli assault via shelling, artillery fire, bombs and drones on Gaza for example which has now reached 1,230 deaths, with over 7,000 injured, mainly defenseless civilians in private homes, hospitals, schools and including many women and children. The Israeli army offensive against a people that have no army of their own (though there are Hamas “resistance fighters” or “terrorists” depending on your viewpoint) has shot, incinerated, blown apart and decapitated innocent people trapped in what is known as “the world’s largest open air prison”. There is nowhere to shelter from the onslaught. So should we label this a holocaust?

 Rabbi Cohen refers to holocaust of Palestinian people

Rabbi Cohen of Manchester who opposes Zionism, stated at a pro-Gaza rally last week that “the Zionists don’t represent Jewish people, they don’t represent humans at all”. He also stated the following,

“the Zionists talk all the time about the holocaust. They say it is forbidden, not allowed to deny the holocaust but is it allowed to deny God? Is it allowed to deny the holy Torah. Is it allowed to deny human rights? Is it allowed to deny the holocaust they commit now on the Palestinian people?” 

This is an important recognition of the atrocities committed against the people of Gaza as a “holocaust” by an Orthodox Jew who understands the strong significance of the word.

Another key example of a “holocaust” is the global haemophilia community as referred to in a court of law. This was a patient group that were deliberately subjected to biological suffering on a vast scale…. individuals (mostly males but not exclusively) that were born with a blood clotting deficiency… and their families who cared for them. Haemophiliacs were subjected to mass unethical experimentation with deadly viruses, family members injected with US prison blood, labelled “treatment” against the Nuremberg Code. The irony is, these ethical guidelines were brought in following earlier such medical experiments carried out by the Nazis on Jews and others at Auschwitz.

In a nutshell, US prisoners were injected with HIV and hepatitis viruses to study them as live subjects for progression of diseases…. in return they were given a small reduction in their prison sentence. These infected prisoners were then allowed to sell their blood to international pharmaceutical companies even whilst glowing yellow with liver disease, falsifying their names using a local Arkansas telephone directory. (This is one of the scandals in Bill Clinton’s closet when he was governor of Arkansas) one of the main prisons used in this multi -million dollar industry.

Haemophilia holocaust, skeleton represents the thousands of dead

Lawyers and activists spent years researching to discover that this was not some “unavoidable accident” as was originally suggested by culpable governments to avoid liability payouts for “negligence” and “unlawful killing” but wide scale unethical research programmes which infected and affected approximately 1 million victims globally. Haemophiliacs too met their “Dr Mengeles”, there were many like the infamous doctor at Auschwitz that considered it cheaper to research on patients than chimpanzees! How do we know this? The doctors, wrote it in their minutes which the Department of Health later tried to trash to avoid detection!

It was a relief to many when legal representatives and media began to call this catastrophe the “haemophilia holocaust” as it summed up the enormous impact on a close knit community where “bleeders” young boys often went to special boarding schools together for those with disabilities and entire classrooms of children were virtually wiped out. Sometimes all that remained was a lone survivor in a school photo, the rest of the youngsters buried six feet under! Some deaths are swift and brutal, others are slow and torturous, haemophiliacs covered both camps…

For many years the media inadvertently colluded with corrupt governments giving a false narrative until extensive research proved this was no “unavoidable” accident. This avoidable holocaust is classed as the the “worst medical treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service (NHS)” in Britain and justice is still awaited by affected families.

The discussion of the word holocaust in its broadest sense is not meant by any means to diminish the power attached to this term or the Jewish Holocaust but rather to highlight that we must do more to both recognize and address such destructive events and make those responsible, accountable for their actions in society.

Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK does address this issue and this quote is taken directly from the official website,

“Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January each year. It’s a time for everyone to pause to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. On HMD we can honour the survivors of these regimes and challenge ourselves to use the lessons of their experience to inform our lives today. 27 January marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp”

– See more at: http://www.hmd.org.uk/page/why-mark-27-january-holocaust-memorial-day#sthash.WKDCZdfs.dpuf

Two quotes on holocaust spring to mind…lessons for us all. The first is from The boy in the striped pajamas (John Boyne) which says,

“who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?”

Palestinian pro-Gaza protesters wear striped pajamas to remind Israeli soldiers of the meaning of holocaust

This reminds me of a demonstration recently in Bilin where Palestinians protesting in support of Gaza turned up in striped pajamas usually associated with Auschwitz to make their point regarding the oppression inflicted on those living in the Gaza Strip.

The second quote is from the late Iris Chang in her excellent book, The rape of Nanking, in which she states,

“as the Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel warned years ago, to forget a holocaust is to kill twice.”

Therefore we must make every effort to ensure that all injustice is exposed and no victims are forgotten!

Raising the Pakistan flag in celebration (left, photo from Ben Jones) and in traditional attire (right, from Samina’s Facebook page)

What a woman! Samina Baig (23) from Shimshal, Hunza valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan has once again made the news with the latest in an impressive line of achievements becoming the first female to summit all seven highest peaks in the seven continents in just under eight months.

When I first interviewed Samina and brother Mirza, also a mountaineer, four years ago, they were struggling initially to find financial sponsors but not to be deterred, the young woman began her career climbing in men’s boots donated by a friend. Now their enthusiastic supporters include foreign friends, embassies and Serena Hotels though there is no support for the pair from the government.

Samina’s earlier achievements include participating in the First Pakistani Women’s Winter Climbing Expedition and becoming the first Pakistani woman and youngest Muslim woman to summit Mt Everest. Samina shared her thoughts with Pakistan Newsweek on reaching the top,

“I was thinking about the women of Pakistan, those who are not allowed to get education, those who are not allowed to do whatever they want to do in their life,” she said. “I hope that the families will understand that the contribution of women is important and can be more powerful for building a greater country.”

The brother and sister duo demonstrate the importance of teamwork (photo from Mirza Ali)

The brother and sister team began in their earlier years by setting up and developing a joint venture project with Pakistan Youth Outreach and the Satwa Gunar Project. The idea was to climb with a film maker and photographer as part of a team of locals and to make a documentary focusing on a high school grade 10 student (Samina) who became the first Pakistani woman mountaineer to summit an unclimbed 6,400m peak. This was the young woman’s first expedition and ascent and an amazing achievement for all concerned. The mountain she climbed, Chashksin Sar, has now been renamed Samina Peak in her honour.

Describing her experience for Explorersweb Samina said, “Shimshali mountaineering is sort of inherited. Our ancestors built Shimshal beneath a glacier, and our community survived this harsh environment using mountaineering skills. Our grandparents and great-grandparents climbed with homemade ropes, wooden stakes and animal horns. Modern mountaineering only reached Shimshal in the 1980s, but Shimshali men soon made their mark. Four of the seven Pakistanis who have summited K2 are from my village” http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=19670

Shimshal village and the awesome mountain, Shimshal White Horn (6,400m) local name “Adver sar” (photo, Mirza Ali)

In her latest adventure, Samina scaled the following 7 peaks, mostly accompanied by Mirza.

Mt Everest, Nepal (8,848m)

Mt Aconcagua, Argentina (6.961m)

Mt McKinley, Alaska (6,194m))

Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5,895m)

Mt Elbrus, Russia 5,642m)

Mt Vinson, Antarctica (4,892m)

Mt Carstensz, Indonesia (4,884m)

Brother and sister are Muslim Ishmailis, a sect that broke away from the Shiites in the 8^th century and their religious practice is seen to be less regimented than other Muslim communities. Mirza told me that men and women are deemed to have equal status in Ishmaili societies and the women are used to working at high altitude gathering dry juniper and grazing yaks. They both hope that their activities will help encourage more young people of both sexes in Pakistan to become involved in adventure travel and lead by example. Samina says she is motivated by her faith in Allah and the purity of her environment.

Mirza and Samina’s work is in line with the United Nations Millenium Development Goals for women and youth which include gender equality and promoting education http://undp.org.pk/global-mdgs.html Pakistan is a signatory supporting this agenda. Mirza is very proud of his sister’s achievements and said “it is my intention to motivate more women to participate as this will give a message of confidence to females everywhere that if a young woman can climb a mountain, she can do anything”.

Samina speaking at the International Mountaineering Film Festival in Islamabad was recorded by S Qazi as saying;

“mountains are life for the people living there, and in the plains and downstream by providing water and ecological services. They are huge to fascinate us and challenge our courage, but there are no opportunities for the young to explore the snow covered natural habitats on the mighty glaciers and on the peaks of sky-touching mountains.

The foreigners come to scale the summits on our lands but we have no chance to explore our own mountains. Provision of outbound educational and adventure activities to the youth and other interested ones is not on the priority list of our government. So, we have

to depend on the foreign friends.” 

Mirza along with Pakistan Youth Outreach have devised a long term programme which will incorporate the following, “to educate youth at grassroots level about mountain adventure, trekking adventure, and wilderness which will cover environmental education and the effects of global warming, the focus will be on schools, college and university.”

Poster for “Beyond the Heights” from the film Facebook page

As well as this they also have a film coming out soon. Beyond the Heights is described in a trailer as,

“based on true story of the first Pakistani and youngest female mountaineer to climb the Mount Everest. Overcoming the towers of hardships, a fragile woman belonging to a small village, named Shimshal, in Hunza valley touched new horizons with her will power and motivation”

Samina is a positive role model not only for Pakistan women but for females around the world. Judging by the previous achievements of Mirza and Samina, it is highly likely that this latest film project will become yet another success story for the hardworking duo.

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Hamas fighter, Gaza 2014 (left, from Chris Hughes, Daily Mirror) and Jewish Resistance fighter, France 1944 (right, WW2 website) 

The Palestinians of Gaza considers themselves to be living within “occupied territory” a fact recognized by United Nations Human Rights Council and Human Rights Watch due to the fact that Israel maintains control of Gaza’s airspace, waters and borders. As Jon Snow, anchor for Channel 4 News tweeted, “if you strangle a people, deny them supply, for years, extreme reaction is inevitable, the one begets the other”

So do Gazans have the right to resist?

General Assembly Resolution A/RES/3246 (XXIX) of 29 November 1974:

3) Reaffirms the legitimacy of the peoples’ struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle.

7) Strongly condemns all Governments which do not recognize the right to self-determination and independence of peoples under colonial and foreign dominations and alien subjugation, notably the peoples of Africa and the Palestinian people; (4)

Israel would do well to take a lesson from history and consider the role of some Jews under Nazi occupation. Many of us are aware of the French resistance in World War 11 however as Dr Tsilla Hershco informs us in “The Jewish Resistance in France during World War 11: The Gap between History and Memory”, the Jews under the Vichy regime “had to fight for survival in separate, autonomous Jewish units.” The Organization Juive de Combat had 9 autonomous groups and their activities are described as follows:-

“the members of the various OJC groups cooperated in a wide range of activities. They rescued thousands of adults and children by providing them with hiding places or forged papers, and organized convoys to Switzerland and Spain.[5] They formed guerrilla organizations in the main cities of France (Corps Franc) and in the mountains (Maquis). They maintained a network of secret agents who transferred money from Switzerland to France and supplied it for the various underground activities and needs. Finally, following the Allied invasion in June 1944, they participated with the general French Resistance in fighting to liberate France.[6]”

A group of Jewish partisans, members of a unit of the Armee Juive (Jewish Army) France, wartime.

Compare this to the Palestinians now living in what is often described as “the world largest open air prison” the Gaza Strip. They are fighting to liberate Gaza where their everyday lives are controlled by an oppressive state and lacking the freedoms that many enjoy elsewhere. In recent days, those targeted by Israeli forces have included children, the elderly, people with disabilities and pregnant women through bombardment, no one has been spared. Hospitals, schools, mosques, food delivery vans, ambulances, private homes have all been hit with 771 dead and over 4,750 injured (24th July, 2014).

The maze of tunnels from Gaza to Egypt recently bombed by Israel have long proven a lifeline to locals bringing in much needed medicines, food, even building materials not available within Gaza and have provided a welcome boost to the economy. The tunnels are also used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and for operational purposes to launch attacks against Israel on the borders.

During the Second World War, Jews such as Boruch Spiegal used the sewage system running from the Warsaw ghetto to “Aryan Poland” in much the same way when under German occupation. The difference being, he was regarded as a hero of the Resistance not as a US designated “terrorist”. The Daily Mail reminds us that “their struggle exists as a symbol of resistance against the odds and maintain human dignity in the worst of possible conditions” very much like Gazans today.

Boruch Spiegal (left) a Jew, used Warsaw sewers as a resistance fighter and Tadeus Borowski (right) used sewers to smuggle weapons to the Jewish Underground

Tadeusz Borowski, code name “Irek” a Second Lieutenant in the Polish Home Army and a Resistance fighter also used the sewers to smuggle weapons, ammunition and forged documents inside the ghetto to the Jewish Underground. In an article by Terese Pencak Schwartz, she writes, “through the wet stinking sewers they moved like rats in sewage that was sometimes chest high. ‘We would have to dismantle our weapons, says Borowski, ‘and carry them along with our ammunition over our heads so they would not get wet.'”

Residents of Gaza have formed defence and resistance groups through necessity. We hear condemnation of militant group Hamas firing rockets into Israel which has resulted in some flights to Tel Aviv being cancelled this week but what are people having to fight against? Abu Yazan of Gaza Youth Breaks Out had this to say, the people are facing,

“40,000 Israeli soldiers with the best tanks in the world, F16s, Helicopters, most destructive rockets worldwide, F15s, F22s, Radars, drones, warships, Sensitive devices, best military communication systems and the most sophisticated weapons against 20,000 Palestinian resistance fighters with light weapons such as Ak47, RPGs, BKCs and some land mines” but he states “they’re not able to win” such is the determination of the Palestinian people.

Israel it seems is now losing the media war as more and more people express horror and outrage as they see uncensored images on Twitter and Facebook of appalling injuries inflicted on civilians, many of them children. The public response has been to hold pro-Palestinian protests around the world and a growth in support for initiatives such as the Boyott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement persuading people not to buy Israeli goods. There are also petitions to governments demanding the practice of allowing foreign nationals to travel to train with the Israeli army be stopped. Two US-Israeli fighters Sean Carmeli and Max Steinberg, recently killed, were identified as fighting in Gaza. (There are double standards at present with those going to fight in Syria likely to be criminalized on return whilst those fighting with Israeli forces appear to go unchecked).

It seems perfectly natural that Gazans are wanting to defend themselves while many foreign governments simply look on as the Gaza strip is attacked daily and their very existence is threatened in what human rights groups are alleging are “war crimes” and some are calling “genocide”. One of the latest horrors is a statement by Israeli academic Mordechai Kedar claiming that raping wives and mothers of Palestinian Hamas militants is the only thing that could deter further terrorist attacks.

Gianluce Mezzofiorre writes in International Business Times that,

“Kedar’s words triggered an angered reaction among feminist activists in Israel, who sent a letter to the University president Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz in which they condemn Kedar’s “words of incitement that grant legitimacy to Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Israeli civilians to commit rape, and endanger both Israeli and Palestinian women.”

Reservists are now refusing to fight (photograph, Getty)

The world can see that while Israel rains plaudits on Resistance fighters of the past, it condemns Palestinians that carry out the very same activities. Interesting resistance within Israel itself is growing with the Jewish Daily Forward claiming that 50 Israeli reservists are refusing to serve in the Gaza War. They state in an online petition that,

“we found that troops who operate in the occupied territories aren’t the only ones enforcing the mechanisms of control over Palestinian lives. In truth, the entire military is implicated. For that reason, we now refuse to participate in our reserve duties, and we support all those who resist being called to service”.

There are other reports of soldiers allegedly “injuring” themselves to avoid having to fight in Gaza and a strong presence of Jews in many of the recent pro-Gaza demonstrations.

In an article in Red Pepper, entitled “The Israeli Resistance” Dr Hannah Safran, a feminist peace activist and a co-founder of Women in Black, Haifa, highlights the importance of initiatives such as “Breaking the Silence” (a group of ex servicemen who are exposing what is happening in the occupied territories). She says that now more people are speaking out and ready to be considered “traitors” to Israel but in contrast they are applauded by Palestinians and their supporters. There are also Jewish peace activists that accompany Palestinian protesters on a weekly basis at Bilin and other gatherings. Dr Safran writes of resisters stating,

“the refusal to recognise our existence has served the propaganda machine of Israel well, especially in times of war. The Israeli media works in unison with the government to present a unified voice of the Jewish population, supporting military action small and large. This seemingly unified voice is presented in opposition to the Palestinians in Israel who are naturally opposing the war and the occupation.”

This claim seems to be borne out by an article in the Guardian (23rd July 2014) alleging that Israel Broadcasting Authority has banned a radio advertisement from a human rights group listing the names of children killed in Gaza. It claims the content is “politically controversial”. An appeal has been launched by B’Tselem who will now petition the Supreme Court. Clearly Israel is not happy for those slaughtered to be highlighted!

It is time now for UN human rights body to investigate claims of Israeli violations on Gaza allegedly committed during the recent military offensive. Israel is fast becoming a pariah state and according to the Guardian, Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri is warning Israel “we advise to take their soldiers and leave before we kidnap more soldiers in addition to the scores we have already killed and wounded.”

Resistance from Gaza is not going to go away and its time the international community held Israel to account for its gross double standards given the history of Jewish resistance!

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

The only hospital in the central Gaza Strip was struck by Israeli tanks in Deir al-Balah on July 21, 2014.

Photographs Shady Alassar

Middle East Eye reported the following,

“The al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza was hit at around 4pm local time (14:00 GMT). At least five people, including a patient were killed and 70 wounded, with reports emerging that ambulances, that rushed to transport the wounded, were also targeted. According to Palestinian officials it was the only hospital servicing some 350,000 Palestinians although it has been badly damaged in the attack.

The Palestinian Health Minister quickly lashed out at the strike describing it as “barbaric” while human rights groups called on Israel to abide by international law and do everything in its power to protect medical facilities and civilians.”

– See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bloodiest-day-fighting-gaza-so-far-death-toll-climbs-573-1445808282#sthash.EA8fzzZQ.dpuf

My friend Gazan photographer Shady Alassar went to view the damage and took the following photographs.

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Dr Mads 2008 (left) and child with horrific head injuries 2014 (right)

Dearest Friends,

The last night was extreme. The “ground” invasion” of Gaza resulted in scores and carloads with maimed, torn apart bleeding, shivering – dying all sorts of Palestinians, all ages, all civilians, all innocent.

The blood of babies all around

The heroes in the ambulances and all of Gaza’s hospitals are working 12-24 hour shifts, grey from fatigue and inhuman workloads (without payment in Shifa for the last 4 months) they care, triage, try to understand the incomprehensible chaos of bodies, sizes, limbs, walking, not walking, breathing, not breathing, bleeding, not bleeding. HUMANS.

Now once more treated like animals by “the most moral army in the world” (sic!)

Paramedic (left) discovers those he is called to treat are dead and injured family members and elderly lady injured and distressed (right)

My respect for the wounded is endless, in their contained determination in the midst of pain, agony and shock; my admiration for the staff and volunteers is endless, my closeness to the Palestinian “sumud” gives me strength, although in glimpses I want to scream, hold someone tight, cry, smell the skin and hair of the warm child, covered in blood, protect ourselves in an endless embrace but we cannot afford that, nor can they.

A massacre of innocents

Ash grey faces, Oh NO not one more load of tens of maimed and bleeding, we still have lakes of blood on the floor in the ER, piles of blood soaked dripping bandages to clear out – oh – the cleaners everywhere, swiftly shovelling the blood and discarded tissues, hair, clothes, canulas – the leftovers from death – all taken away… to be prepared again, to be repeated all over.

Distraught father with his dead child (left) and the pain and suffering of a  injured boy (right)

More than 100 cases came to Shifa last 24 hours, enough for a large well-trained hospital with everything, but here – almost nothing: electricity, water, disposables, drugs, OR tables, instruments, monitors – all rusted and as if taken from museums of yesterdays hospitals. But they do not complain -these heroes. They get on with it, like warriors, head on, enormous resolute.

And as I write these words to you, alone, on a bed, my tears flow, the warm but useless tears of pain and grief, of anger and fear. This is not happening.

The fear of a little one (left) and unbearable grief (right)

From the press to a tiny baby… no one is spared

And then, just now, the orchestra of the Israeli war- machine starts its gruesome symphony again: just now salvos of artillery from the navy boats just down on the shores, the roaring F16, the sickening drones Arabic, Zennanis (the hummers) and the cluttering Apaches. So much made and paid in and by US.

Mr Obama, do you have a heart?

I invite you – spend one night – just one night – with us in Shifa. Disguised as a cleaner maybe.

I am convinced 100% it would change history.

 Traumatized youngsters

Nobody with a heart AND power could ever walk away from a night in Shifa without being determined to end the slaughter of the Palestinian people. But the heartless and merciless have done their calculations and planned another “dahyia” onslaught on Gaza. The rivers of blood will keep running the coming night. I can hear they have tuned their instruments of death.

Final good-bye to a husband (left) and latest casualty right) 

Victims burnt and decapitated

Please. Do what you can. This THIS cannot continue.

Mads

Gaza, Occupied Palestine.

Mads Gilbert, MD PhD

Professor and Clinical Head

Clinic of Emergency Medicine

University Hospital of North Norway

N-9038 Tromso, Norway

Mob: +4790878740

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.