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bfpnola · 1 year

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Hey. It's @reaux07. If you remember my last angry history rant on Paul Robeson, I'm back for Part 2. This time? King Leopold II and his relationship to the Congo. I just finished writing a 5-page, single-spaced essay on this for class, so I'll do my best to summarize in bullet points this time rather than chunky paragraphs. This will still be long though, as a warning, but it's a necessary read. Please let me get through this, because y'all know this hurts to write.

Trigger warnings for... just about everything typically associated with mass colonization (e.g. rape, murder, torture, etc.). Tiktok below as a brief introduction first:

King Leopold II of Belgium, due to his personal unpopularity and lack of love from his parents, had low self-esteem. As his father had already made 50 attempts to colonize foreign lands to no avail, Leopold felt the only way to uplift both himself and his country was to take take control of his own colony.

He checked Sarawak, the New Hebrides, the Fiji Islands, and the Philippines. Nothing. But what was left? The Congo.

How did he learn of the Congo? Leopold hired Henry Morton Stanley, a famous Welsh explorer of the time, to cross Africa from east to west, walking and canoeing 7,000 miles.

Upon the Congo's discovery, Leopold turned his palace into a luxury hotel for the delegates of a new conference to discuss Africa's colonization, supervising every detail. He successfully lied to the major powers of Europe, making claims of charitable and philanthropic aims, and that there would be free trade amongst the African colonies. (And yes, he did give every single attendee a painting of his face... Because he could.)

Meanwhile, back in the Congo, Stanley (the explorer I just mentioned) used bribes and trickery to provide official treaties with the various chiefs of the land in case Leopold ever needed legal proof of land ownership. (Ex of said trickery: One report noted that a village assumed "the white man controlled the sun.")

In 1891 and 1892, Leopold released decrees stating that both vacant land and produce of the forests exclusively belonged to Belgium and that natives could only harvest for the state.

Enforcing Leopold’s rule were 16,000 Africans equipped with modern Belgian-made automatic rifles.

Outing Attempt #1: One African American man, George Washington Williams, during his trip compiled a report to be sent to the American secretary of state. In this letter, Williams remembers bets being taken on who could shoot the native people in the head first, among other instances of vile treatment. While the document never made it back to Williams’ home country, it was eventually found in Europe where he later died.

By this point, the Congo was actually ruining Leopold’s finances and he was growing desperate. But to his surprise, he happened to pick the one spot where rubber grew in abundance, just as the demand for cars and bicycles rose internationally, John Dunlop, a Scottish veteran, having just invented the first pneumatic tire.

Because of this, rubber-prominent areas were the targets of mass exploitation and punishment if daily and weekly rubber quotas were not met.

Missionaries began to write not just to one another, but back home in disgust of these aforementioned “punishments,” one man’s writings put in missionary magazines and national newspapers in Europe. These punishments included rape, tying people up to trees, cutting off men's heads and genitals to be displayed along the fences of Congolese villages, cutting women’s breasts off, and most notably...

Attempt #2: The world, if only momentarily, saw BASKETS after BASKETS of right hands that had been cut off as proof that each of the cartridges given to the Africans had been fired and killed one of their own people. These hands were then smoked for preservation and brought back to their officers.

What did Leopold do once this information came out alongside photos of child mutilation? Acknowledge the abuses and moved on almost immediately.

In Europe, the rubber was processed in a city called Antwerp, ironically named after a mythological giant who also cut off hands. To this day, the connection between such a name and Belgian history has not been made by the general public as countless documents by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are kept secret to maintain an image of untouched royalty.

One commissioner in charge of a district in Congo, Leon Fievez, produced one ton of rubber a day, boasting of 1,000 people killed, 162 villages destroyed, burning gardens and plantations so people would starve, and having “only” used 3,000 cartridges. He was nicknamed the “Devil of the Equator” and rightly so.

Attempt #3: One day, a man named Charles Stokes, a British trader working for the Germans, entered the picture. Stokes was arrested for trading in state territory, despite those former claims of free trade, and sentenced to death. Leopold was forced to pay compensation to both Britain and Germany for his death, both countries now increasingly aware of the Congo’s dark reality.

To cover it up, Leopold made claims of the Congo opening up to new companies. Let's be real: His men were on the boards of all these new companies and he took 50% of the profits.

In particular were these "concession companies" where the "hostage system" was set up. Agencies, with official hostage licenses authorizing such, would take the wives of rubber collectors for up to 15 days until the quota was met.

On the 15th day, the men of the Congo either got their wives back or faced further punishment, often death. For the agents, the 15th day meant it was time to calculate commissions, and for the king? It was proof that this new hostage system worked.

These abusive concession companies lasted over 10 years until formal competition arose in South America and Asia.

Attempt #4: Then came Edmund Dene Morel, a half-French, self-taught shipping clerk turned investigative journalist who wrote in The Speaker of the abuses faced by the Congolese, backed up by evidence, not just speculations.

Due to Morel’s growing specialization in West African affairs, he was able to not only send out 15,000 brochures and 3,700 letters in six months after his move to Wales, but start his own newspaper, West African Mail.

By 1903, Roger Casement, an ally to Morel’s cause, spent two months traveling the upper Congo, recording African testimonies. He, too, realized that missionaries were key witnesses and went to visit Joseph Clark (a missionary of 20 years) for 17 days.

Through these reports, which grew to 50 pages in length, Casement and Morel were able to solidify Belgium as perpetuating the worst colonial system Africa had ever known. Punishments included Africans performing public incest for the colonists' entertainment, decapitation, women being stabbed with wooden spikes up their vaginas, and one woman tied up to a tree and slashed straight in half from her left shoulder through her abdomen and out the other side.

The West African Mail even reported on a part of Congo no one knew existed, private property within private property called the “Crown Domain” on the other side of Lake Tumba, which gained 231 million euros alone, all sent directly to King Leopold II. Crown Domain was 10x 5)3 size of Belgium.

Founded by Morel, Liverpool became the headquarters of a coalition called the Congo Reform Association. He also published a book called Red Rubber (1906). I think you’ll find the cover particularly striking! Check out the hand in the bottom right corner being weighed against King Leopold II on the left.

Leopold obviously not having this, commissioned a number of books and monthly magazines to clear up the mess. This didn't work. Obviously.

He even tried to send his own international commission to control what the Congolese said in 1904, to no avail. This was due to a missionary named John Harris who had taken the accounts of various people in the area and sent them back to Morel.

In one particularly heartbreaking moment, a chief brought to Leopold’s judges 110 twigs for each of the entire villages, not just people, killed by the Belgian state, naming every last one.

By the time they returned to Europe, the governor-general committed suicide and, upon being asked, Harris suggested Leopold should be sent to the gallows by the relatively new International Court of Justice.

The commission's report vindicated Casement and Morel. Leopold had tricked no one. EVERYONE in Belgium was calling him out.

Leopold ordered all of the Congo State Records to be burned.

In 1908, the Congo became a Belgian colony, not longer Leopold’s personal property. The state still made claims of "civilizing" the Africans after Leopold's death though, utilizing the leftover mineral exploitation industry with no guilt.

At least during his funeral, which he was denied of having privately, the entire city booed his body <3 well deserved. By this point, he had become Europe’s most hated man of the time.

And in case you were wondering, Casement and Morel were both accused to pro-German sympathies during WWI and executed.

I would like to add more detail but I think I’ve hit a character limit. Just know that Congo’s population was cut in HALF, in some places as much as 60-90%. Villages after villages were burned, as shown through so many soldiers’ and missionaries’ journals. This was a genocide of over 10 MILLION PEOPLE y’all. Hearing this story was truly SICKENING, but here’s the BBC 4 documentary we watched for class for more: Congo: White King, Red Rubber, and Black Death.

What truly gets me is just how OTHER colonizers were calling this man out after finding out the full truth… For me, that feels like extra proof of how truly messed up this was if THEY were disturbed too.

And what feels truly insidious was how Leopold made sure to institutionalize all of his wrongdoings and was so… obviously knowing about every wrongdoing, I mean writing in letters to make sure no one else found out. Please…

Linking my angry history rant on Paul Robeson from last semester here.

Happy Black History Month.

#belgium #king leopold ii #democratic republic of congo #history #black history month #colonialism #tw genocide #tw rape #tw torture #tw massacre #the congo #tw incest #resources #bipoc #undescribed #reaux speaks #black lives matter

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aprilblossomgirl · 9 months

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flower/plant in dramas

Prompted by the conversation I had with @colourme-feral about plumeria and jasmine being featured in the first episode of I Feel You Linger in the Air (and also, plumeria was featured in KinnPorsche during the scene with Khun Spikes our beloved), I was tempted to write this post. Honestly, I always love to see how flowers or plants or even parks (not theme-parks) are used in dramas. Flowers and plants give visual localities and in many cases it's a part of natural and cultural elements of a place where the drama is set. And for me, it is always interesting to see how people 'place' their priority on parks, or to some extent, forests, through a piece of media; are they treated just as a side / decorative elements (as an escapade, or simply a break, destination, maybe), or as center stages? (Sorry, I was once an architecture/landscape architecture graduate and still, until today, have this default interest towards these living elements -- tropical flowers and forests my beloved! --, and since I LOVE watching my Asian shows, how they were presented there - will I always write about them, though, that's another case.) So, I am thinking of making some posts about flowers in dramas (specifically in Thai dramas). As I focused more on the Southeast Asian context, I might miss some facts about of the flower(s) from the perspective of other regions, but hopefully I didn't leave out anything significant.

part 1 - plumeria/frangipani

Plumeria (or also popular as frangipani) is a genus of flowering plants native to the Neotropical areas (including Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Florida in the US) but had been spread throughout the warm tropical regions as ornamentals. I'm not going to list its different types of species but given that Plumeria is known more as a common name, here's a list of how the flower is also called across Southeast Asia's region: Frangipani, Cempaka, Kemboja, Bunga kubur (Malaysia); Kamboja (Indonesia); Kalachuchi, Kalasutsing-puti, Kalasutsing pula (the Philippines); Lan-thom-khaao, Lam-thom-daeng, Lee-laao-dee (Thailand); and Dai (Vietnam). Please feel free to correct me if you see any of these names to be wrong.

There's no clear evidence on how and when exactly the plants came to Southeast Asia, however, two temples in Indonesia (one built in the 9th century and the other in the 14th century before the European came to the region) had the flower trees depicted in their relief.

In Southeast Asia, both the flower and the trees of Plumeria are considered sacred. The flower is strongly associated with religion and temple life in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures, for examples, it is used by the Balinese Hindus in their temple offerings.

The Plumeria is also linked to ghosts and graveyards in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia where the trees are often planted at cemeteries both to give shading and to function as signage. Bunga kubur, one of the known names of Plumeria in Malaysia, literally means cemetery/graveyard (=kubur, or kuburan in Indonesian) flower (=bunga). Locals believe that the flowers give shelter to ghosts and spirits. In Malaysian-Indonesian folklores specifically, the flower's fragrance is even associated with a certain type of mythological creature that is a vampiric spirit (who likes to hang out on the trees), thus the flower often perceived as bad luck.

However, on the other side, Plumerias are also commonly used as ornamental plants in houses, parks, parking lots, and other open area as part of the elements of modern landscaping.

This interesting article compiles five interpretations of Plumeria flower meaning across various cultures, those are: (1) Peace, joy, and warm welcomes; (2) Openness to new relationships or loyalty to existing ones; (3) Ties to death and immortality; (4) Fertility, rebirth, and femininity; and (5) Medicinal healing powers.

The article above, with additional information taken from here, said that in Thailand, the way they would say Plumeria (ลั่นทม / lân-tom) was similar to the word for 'sorrow', or 'gloomy, sad, and depressed' (ระทม / rá-tom). This might be why the flower had a negative meaning to the people or community in the past and considered an unlucky plant. However, this perspective is changing and now Plumeria (or Frangipani) has a new name that is ลีลาวดี / Lii-laa-wá-dii/Lee-laao-dee.

Lastly, here's another article that talks more about Kalachuchi (another name for Plumeria) flower.

the flower in dramas:

KinnPorsche -- Remember our Khun Spike. Plumeria flowers here were used as offering or signage on top of the grave.

I Feel You Linger in the Air -- A Plumeria flower here was used as a prop, depicted falling from the sky onto the top of a plate of jasmines. It might hold some symbolisms: a welcome, an openness, or transfer of 'spirit' or soul across the time dimension.

Next, I plan to write about jasmine (Part 2) and hibiscus (Part 3).

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] and the book "A Field Guide to Tropical Plants of Asia" by Engel & Phummai, 2008.

#flower in dramas #flowers #tropical flowers #plumeria #frangipani #i feel you linger in the air #kinnporsche #i'm tagging the shows for organization purpose #*this is why i don't write much here it took me so long to compile things i wanted to say :')

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is-the-snake-video-cute · 2 years

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I'm part Filipino; are there any Philippines-native snakes that you can share?

Absolutely!! There are plenty of awesome snakes native to the Philippines.

The Philippines are home to the Paradise flying snake (Chrysopelea paradisi)! These guys are members of the genus of flying snakes, who can glide from tree to tree by flattening their bodies out like frisbees.

Mangrove snakes (Boiga dendrophila) are awesome. These guys are the biggest cat-eyed snakes in the world (6-8 feet long in a genus where 1.5-2 feet long is average). They're rear-fanged venomous colubrids, and although their venom isn't medically significant to humans, it's supposed to be much more unpleasant than a hognose's.

Triangle-spotted snakes (genus Cyclocorus) have a soft spot in my heart. They're teeny little snakes (just over a foot long on average), specialized for eating even smaller snakes! They have very unique teeth - their teeth increase in size towards the back of their mouth, ending in two unusually large teeth near the end. They're not venomous - that's probably to help them eat reptilian prey easily! They belong to their own family, but they're more closely related to elapids than to colubrids.

Bluntheaded slug snakes (Aplopeltura boa) are my best friends. Look at them. As you might guess from the name, they eat slugs. 10/10, no notes.

Dog-toothed cat snakes (Boiga cynodon) are a species I'd love to talk about all day long! They're so cool! Like mangrove snakes, their cousins, they're big for cat-eyed snakes (around 6 feet for these guys). They get their name from their huge teeth - they have big teeth because they're specialized for snatching birds out of the air as they're flying by!

They flatten out their necks vertically when they're upset! Lots of Old World snakes do this, but they're particularly dramatic about it.

They like to rest on branches like green tree pythons. They're amazing. Dog-toothed cat snakes my beloveds.

Philippine pit vipers (Trimeresurus flavomaculatus) are close relatives to white-lipped tree vipers! These guys are unique to the Philippines.

The Philippines is home to several cobras, but one of the coolest is the Samar cobra (Naja samarensis)! These guys are bright yellow spitting cobras! Spitting cobras are able to spit venom through specialized holes in their fangs. It's kinda like being both melee and ranged-weapon equipped. They've evolved to aim for the eyes!

Finally, in waters off the Philippine islands, you can find my personal favorite sea snake, the yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus)! These are some of the most widely-distributed sea snakes in the world - they're found in tropical ocean waters around the world, excepting the Atlantic. A fun sea snake fact: they actually can't drink salt water! They have to drink fresh water from rain as it collects along the top of the ocean water. Yellow-bellied sea snakes can go for up to seven months without freshwater during times of drought!

#not a rating #snake facts #snakes of the world

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ilaw-at-panitik · 4 months

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Our little Bagawak Morado plant is starting to bloom! ✨ Mas maganda yung sa neighbor namin kasi mayabong na, pero we're so happy! This one's native in the Philippines and blooms in January, siguro kaya tawag din sa kanya ay fireworks.

#not a lit post #philippines #philippine native trees #philippine wild life

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filipeanut · 11 months

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10 years ago I took photos of trees newly planted on the campus of UP Diliman. I went back to take pictures of them again to see how big they've grown. What makes these trees special is that they are native to Philippine forests, many represent species long forgotten, or even near extinction. 2013 was also my first year designing for non-profits, specifically in the environmental movement. Today I still make art about the environment through my @philippinewildlifeart project. Sometimes I like to think that these trees are physical representations of how far I've grown, and how far I've yet to go. See 20 of the trees side-by-side with their "baby pictures", with a bit of "tree-via" on each species: https://filipeanut.art/a-10-year-old-forest-of-native-trees-in-metro-manila-before-and-after/

#Biodiversity #Philippine native trees #Anahaw

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pleistocene-pride · 2 months

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Gallus gallus better known as the red jungle fowl, the bankiva, the wild chicken, or the bankiva fowl, is a species of tropical bird in the family Phasianidae which is native throughout much of south east asia from India, Nepal and Bangladesh in the west, and eastwards across southern China, to Indochina; south/southeast into Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Red junglefowl are also the primary wild ancestor of the various breeds of domestic chickens, with humans first keeping and domesticating these birds some 8,0000 years ago. As such like its domestic descendants, was brought with and introduced to various regions across the world most notably Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, and Polynesia. Here they inhabit all range of forests and woodlands as well as plantations, orchards, and agricultural areas. They live in flocks consisting of a few roosters and several hens and there offspring, often lead by a dominant male who maintains a small territory often centered around ideal roosting spots. They feed upon fruit, seeds, insects and other invertebrates, grains, leaves, stems, bamboo, grasses, roots, tubers, and the occasional small rodent or lizard. Jungle fowl are in turn eaten by a plethora or predators including various cats, civets, canines, primates, hyenas, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, coconut crabs, bears, marsupials, and predatory birds. Female red jungle fowl typically reach around 2.25lbs (1kg) in weight and 17 inches (43.2 cms) in length, while males can get to about 3.25 (1.5kg) in weight and 30 inches (76.2cms) in length. The males coloration is a vibrant mix of orange, brown, red, gold, grey, white, olive and even metallic green feathers. In contrast females are typically much more muted in plumage. Males also sport a long tall and larger combs and wattles than females. Flight in these birds is almost purely confined to reaching their roosting areas at sunset in trees or any other high and relatively safe places free from ground predators, and for escape from immediate danger through the day. Breeding occurs in the dry season, during which time males impress females by performing a display called "tidbitting" in which they dance, call, bobble, and brings the female food. After mating the female will lay an egg a day, for up to 12 days, and incubate them for 21 days until hatching. The young fledge at around 5 weeks of age, and at 12 weeks they are forced out of there mothers flock and must set off to join another or form there own. Under ideal conditions a red jungle fowl will reach sexual maturity at around 5 months of age and may live up to 30 years.

#pleistocene pride #pleistocene #pliestocene pride #pliestocene #cenozoic #ice age #stone age #dinosaur #bird #red #jungle #fowl #red junglefowl #junglefowl #chicken #asia #polynesian

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pannaginip · 4 months

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Masungi Georeserve on Twitter @MasungiGeo:

The Bignay tree (Antidesma bunius) is a fascinating Philippine-native tree that boasts verdant green leaves and produces small, round, and colorful red to purple berries. These berries are not only visually appealing but are edible.

Bignay tree plays a vital role in supporting biodiversity and its robust root system helps prevent soil erosion and stabilizes the surrounding environment. #SaveMasungi

#save masungi #philippines #nature #photography #nature photography #berries

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nobodysprincess · 7 months

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“This is how colonialism works. It convinces us that the fallout from resistance is entirely our fault, that the immoral choice is resistance itself rather than the circumstances that demanded it.” — R.F Kuang, Babel

Resistance does not happen in a vacuum.

Resistance, rebellion, protests, marches, demonstrations, and boycotts all happen in response to injustice.

When you know the context, your humanity should pull you to come out in full support of the Palestinians.

If, after reading this whole post, or even half of it, if you are not emotionally moved or heartbroken by the oppression … I don’t even know what to say.

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When Native Americans fought for their land, the white people called them “savages” while the emigrating thieves were “civilized” and considered themselves “victims.”

Mandela’s ANC (African National Congress, a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid) was considered a terrorist organization by the oppressors.

The Philippines were colonized by the Spanish for 300 years, then by Americans and then the Japanese. Their historical liberation movement was called “terrorism.” (And the League of Filipino Students stand with Palestine.)

The Hawaiians’ land was stolen. It’s a resort. Whenever you see it in stories (movies, tv shows, books), it’s for when the characters go there on vacation; and their culture gets warped, exaggerated, mocked, purposefully misunderstood, and also sexualized. But in reality, even til this day, indigenous children are punished for speaking their native language in school. Their language and culture is nearly extinct. All Hawaiians should be able to speak their language, not just a percentage of them. Even if you can’t relate, at least you can dig and bring up your compassion and empathy to the surface. Is it wrong to be angry about this? Is it wrong to fight back against colonialism and imperialism and capitalism?

Korea had their own independence movement and liberation army. It lasted decades. Yes, they used violent attacks. You wouldn’t have all those beautiful K-dramas to watch on Netflix, if they didn’t literally fight for their freedom.

India, too.

When Palestinians fight back against the oppression, they’re called “terrorists.”

These people are subjugated. It permeates every waking moment of their life. The Israeli colonizers who would call themselves ‘victims’ are the same people who “control the most simple and basic elements” of Palestinian life.

Read that again.

“We basically control the most simple and basic elements of life.” — Ori Givati, former Israeli soldier, speaking up about the occupation of Palestine.

With context, it’s a thousand times more chilling. But even without it, especially if you can relate to being controlled over everything by a bigger but terrible person while growing up, that sentence alone is heartbreaking.

But it shouldn’t take that sentence for people to realize that that’s what it’s been all along since 1948. You just need to open your eyes and see how they, the Palestinians, are treated.

The Palestinians’ water wells were cemented by Israeli soldiers, to stop them from getting clean water. So, forget the Israeli government turning on a simple switch to allow water from their pipes – ‘cause the Palestinians can’t even get fresh water on the only strip of land they have!

How can anyone defend or justify that?

Also, the millions of olive trees that had lived through generations (and it takes years for a new olive tree to produce anything) were destroyed by the Israel occupation since 1948. Now why would Israel destroy olive trees? Olive trees have a very special significance throughout the Middle East. Olive trees are important to Palestinian culture and heritage.

But Israel still continues to burn or destroy agriculture (aside from the bombs destroying it), they never stopped.

Gazan fishermen cannot even fish freely, there have been limits to how far out in the water they could go.

From the words of a Palestinian woman who works in a border school affiliated with the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, established in 1949), translated to English:

“Fishermen are hunted at sea and they're falsely accused of getting close to the border. The fishing area keeps shrinking that they now have a tiny area from which they can make a living.”

Full post is here. For heaven’s sake, it takes a year to even get an item that they order from the Internet finally delivered, and even then it’s not a guarantee. The Israeli soldiers won’t give it to the purchaser if it’s dual-use.

Diving goggles are classified as dual-use, so the woman (who wrote the post I just linked) wasn’t able to get them. DIVING GOGGLES!

Where is your humanity?

If you are so desensitized to the gravity of this happening to 2 million people in the year 2023, and if you see all the deaths as just a number, and these numbers are just a statistic to you … I don’t know what I could say to make you understand.

How about the words of a Native American who visited Palestine in the past, and said it reminded him of his home in the U.S reservations? The United States government stole native land hundreds of years ago, and life in reservations are still so bad that this person felt at home in Palestine. THINK ABOUT THAT!

Go ahead, try and tell me Israel isn’t an apartheid that’s even worse than Nazi Germany, or the U.S. genocide of Native Americans.

This occupation has been going on since 1948! Gazans need a permit to enter West Bank (which is often denied to them), and there are checkpoints on every street. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Even when you finish reading this post, it doesn’t showcase half of how much oppression there is.

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The Israeli government “control the most simple and basic elements of life” there. That was a quote from one former Israeli soldier.

Here’s another former Israeli soldier, speaking up against the occupation, (Eran Efrati):

“I was broken. I felt like I was the terrorist. And my job was literally to scare people so they cannot think about acting against the Israeli settlers.”

“Very early on, I understood that the rights that the Jewish settlers have are not the rights that the Palestinians have.”

“I understood that I cannot touch a Jewish settler if he is attacking a Palestinian.”

“So (these) Jewish settlers that live in Hebron are living under the same rights that I live in, in Jerusalem. But the Palestinians next to them, next house over, next building over, or sometimes next apartment over, lives under my rule, my military rule.”

“And I can do whatever I want with him.”

By the way, this is Stage 3 of the 10 stages of genocide: Discrimination. The Stage 2 is Classification, and Palestinians are a separated group under Israeli law.

Here’s the link to the video.

And a former Israeli Air Force pilot, Yonatan Shapira, said this:

“I was a captain in Israeli Air Force, I was a helicopter pilot and I realized during the 2nd Intifada what Israeli Air Force and Israeli military doing is war crime, terrorizing population of millions of Palestinians.”

“As a child in Israel, you are being brought up in very strong Zionist militaristic education. You don’t know almost anything about Palestine, you don’t know about the Nakba, 1948, you don’t know anything about ongoing oppression.”

Here’s the link to the video.

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As of October 30, 2023, Israel has wiped out 881 families. Lineages. Bloodlines. This means 30 to 80 persons in EACH FAMILY.

On October 17, that number was only 47 bloodlines.

« Gaza, Oct. 29 (Petra) - The death toll from the war on Gaza has reached 8,005, including 3,324 children, 2,062 women, 460 elderly people, while 1,870 people were reported missing, including 1,020 children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The ministry spokesman said the Israeli occupation has carried out 56 massacres in the last several hours, killing 302 Palestinians. Most of the victims were moved to the southern parts of the Gaza Strip, which Israel claims are safe zones.

He added that 116 medical staff were killed, 25 ambulances were destroyed, and 57 health facilities were targeted, pointing out that 881 families were lost as a result of the occupation's purposeful targeting of them. »

And if you don’t believe these numbers, because you’d rather believe Israel – guess what? Israel is keeping score, and published it on their Channel 14 news channel with rising numbers. Israel are genocidal maniacs. It’s not my fault you refuse to believe what your eyes can see.

UPDATE

As of November 25 of 2023, the number of deaths reached 20,000. The number of children among them are 8,176.

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“We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Nice people made the best Nazis. My mom grew up next to them. They got along, refused to make waves, looked the other way when things got ugly and focused on happier things than “politics.” They were lovely people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away. You know who weren’t nice people? Resisters.” — Naomi Shulman

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And along with Israel bombing the Palestinians using the internationally-banned white phosphorus—!

It is so violent in its destruction, and, I repeat, it is prohibited under international law! Of course, you’d think that violating the Geneva Convention would result in heavy consequences, but imperialist governments not caring and getting away with anything is a different topic.

It is so wicked, I can’t—

Even if you don’t care about a massive loss of human life, the phosphorus effect on agricultural lands are devastating and lasts for years. It still makes people sick and nauseous with no apparent signs of injury on the plants.

And all the mushroom clouds after those CONSTANT bombs drop on Gaza!

Even if you don’t care about the loss of human life, do you have a speck of humanity in you to care about all the pollution? At the very least?

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How many times does the Israeli government have to be caught lying or admit to lying, before you realize they can never be trusted because they’re liars? They have a long history of it, too!

OPEN YOUR EYES!

When the people had a funeral for American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Israeli police kicked and beat the mourners who were carrying the casket.

Is it any wonder that there are former Israeli soldiers and pilots who stopped supporting their government because they felt like terrorists, and realized it is Israel who are the terrorists?

Look at this!

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It is also NEVER a normal time to say “I’m a little bit fascist,” whether it’s 2000 or 2023…but the video in the tweet below is from 2009. This is an Israeli woman saying, “I’m a little bit fascist.”

Imagine thinking this is normal to talk that way. Imagine thinking fascism is, in any way, good or beneficial.

•

The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip do not have basic human rights.

If you value having your human rights, do not turn a blind eye to Palestine.

Their access to the outside world, via WiFi and the Internet, is the one and only way they can spread awareness of what’s going on.

No government should have the power to turn off water and cut electricity and telecommunications.

Collective punishment is a war crime under international law, a crime on humanity that could easily be done to you. You think you’re safe in your country? Every protest and demonstration or march (on any topic, really) is met with the same brutal police treatment. What’s to stop them from going all out, the moment they get the government’s green light? I remember military vehicles coming out in force during the BLM protests. Many people are permanently blind and/or disabled from the tear gassing and the rubber bullets.

•

You cannot justify indiscriminate bombing on a densely populated SMALL area. It’s never right, but think about this…

The Gaza Strip is 139 square miles.

Detroit, Michigan is also 139 square miles.

Detroit only has less than six hundred thousand people in their population. The Gaza Strip has two MILLION.

Religious buildings, universities, hospitals … bombed, all under the excuse that “terrorists” were hiding there.

The same exact excuse Israel used to justify bombing a school in Egypt in 1970, it is not new and not exclusive to Gaza. They always use the same tactics.

•

What I’m sharing here is pretty much everything I’ve shared (and then some) about the occupation and genocide against Palestinians. So, pardon me if it’s not cohesive, because it’s not really meant to be. I shared most of this just one time with somebody, and I still got hit back by that heartless lunatic threatening me to watch and “enjoy Israeli retribution.”

It’s bad enough seeing it in the comment sections on YouTube or Twitter; it’s even more mind-boggling to have it spoken in direct response to me in my attempt to appeal to what little speck of humanity they have left, so I don’t make a habit of speaking up.

•

Palestinians are Arabs. Arabs are Semites.

If, for some asinine reason, you support Israel on the genocide they’re committing right now against Gaza, and you still want to call me an anti-Semite … then you should know that a former Israeli minister of education said (nonchalantly) back in 2002 that they always use that label as a trick on anyone who criticizes the Israeli government.

And a former Israeli Mossad agent, in 1995, said that labeling someone an anti-Semite is one of the ways he silenced critics. They know you’re not an anti-Semite, but they will label you as such to discredit you.

Victor Ostrovsky: « But I know what they do ‘cause I used to ask them to do it. When I was in the Mossad and we had a guy that gave us problems in the U.S., and he was speaking out and he was talking like people talk once and said, “Israel is bombing Lebanon with cluster bombs,” we say, “Hey, who’s that guy?” you know? ‘Pete Macockey,’ we used to call him. Yeah, which is Pete the Cockroach, ‘cause he makes a lot of noise and you can’t get rid of him. So, what you do is you get in touch with a guy in the station in New York or in the station in Washington and tell the guys in B’nai B’rith to label him. And, of course, the campaign starts, and before you know it, the guy is labeled. And he’s ‘an anti-Semite’ because that’s what we say he is. It shames me as a Jew to tell you that. But that’s the fact and it’s wrong. »

It SHAMED him as a Jew to say that this is what his government does. This is what Israel does!

The same thing happened in Nazi Germany – it was illegal to even mock Adolf Hitler, or talk badly about the Nazi regime. It’s the same thing regarding CPC, Chinese citizens will have their online posts deleted if they criticize China. And it’s the same with North Korea, it’s actually worse than China – they cannot even consume foreign entertainment if it’s not sanctioned by their government.

If you criticize Israel, their government will silence you by slapping on the “anti-Semitic” label onto you.

As Shulamit Aloni said, “It’s a trick, we always use it.” Thank you for exposing yourselves!

If you’ve reached all the way down to this part of the post, and anything I’ve typed out hasn’t moved you emotionally at all, you should stop calling yourself pro-climate and pro-life.

And look!

It’s there for all to see.

We don’t even have to expose Israel’s black hearts, they’re doing that all on their own.

We literally just have to point this out. The rest is up to you.

Imagine Russians doing this about Ukrainians!

Is this who you want to defend? “God’s chosen people” mocking cultural attire, comparing Palestinians to dogs, dehumanizing them, degrading their deaths, laughing at mothers losing their children.

Is this the hill you want to die on? IS THIS YOU?!

The depravity!

•

“Words and terminology are crucial," said Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian Head of Mission in the United Kingdom. "From the beginning, Israel wanted to link the Palestinian people to Hamas. And then they linked Hamas to ISIS. That’s linking ISIS to what? The Palestinians.”

Article by Lemma Shehadi • October 17, 2023

———

[A thread by Dr_MianUmair1 on Twitter]

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the distinction between Hamas and ISIS. It is important to clarify that these are two distinct entities with different goals, ideologies, and methods.

Hamas is a Palestinian political and military organization that was established in 1987. Its primary objective is the liberation of Palestine, Hamas engages in political and social activities, as well as armed resistance against Israeli occupation.

On the other hand, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is a radical Islamist extremist group that emerged in the early 2000s. Their goal was to establish a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, imposing their version of Sharia law and carrying out acts of terrorism worldwide.

While both organizations have been classified as terrorist groups by various countries, it is crucial to note that their motivations, strategies, and geographical focuses are vastly different.

Hamas primarily operates in the Palestinian territories, with a particular focus on the Gaza Strip; while ISIS was primarily active in Iraq and Syria, although their influence has significantly diminished in recent years.

Hamas, despite being a designated terrorist organization by some countries, also has a political wing that participates in democratic processes and provides social services to the Palestinian people (A reason why they love Hamas)

In conclusion, Hamas and ISIS may share the label of "terrorist organization," but they are not the same. Understanding their distinctions is essential for informed discussions about the region. 🌍🤝

———

But, now, what if I told you that Israel (and the U.S., “indirectly and directly”) created Hamas?

U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul, in 2009:

“If you look at the history, you’ll find out that Hamas was encouraged and really started by Israel because they wanted Hamas to counteract Yassir Arafat [chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO].”

“So, then, we as Americans say, ‘Well, we have such a good system, we’re going to impose this on the world, we’re gonna invade Iraq and teach people how to be democrats.’ We want free elections, so we encourage the Palestinians to have a free election, they do and they elect Hamas.”

“So, we [the United States] first indirectly and directly, through Israel, help establish Hamas, then we have election that Hamas becomes dominant, so we have to kill them.”

Hmm, so Israel-U.S help establish Hamas, playing them against each other until they get their dominance, just so Israel can justify killing Hamas and every single Palestinian? That, coupled with the former Israeli politician saying that they slap the ‘antisemitism’ label on critics to justify killing the Palestinians? Wow, Israel and the U.S. sure do sound like the evil villains here. It almost sounds like…they always planned to commit genocide! Look at my shocked face > ö

But anyway…

•

Painting Hamas with the ISIS brush has implications for how Israel is expected to fight its war with the Palestinian militant group, experts told The National.

“There is a danger in comparing Hamas to ISIS, which can indirectly legitimise disproportionate use of violence on civilians in Gaza, under the pretence of fighting terrorism,” Ms Khatib said.

Experts highlighted the US-led coalition’s war with ISIS in 2014, during which Iraqi and Syrian cities were razed, killing up to 11,000 civilians in Iraq alone and displacing hundreds of thousands more.

“The US government labelled its campaign in Syria and Iraq as 'a campaign of annihilation', so for Secretary Austin to be suggesting Hamas is the same or worse is doing little more than encouraging Israel to assume a similarly brutal approach in Gaza,” said Charles Lister, director of the US-based Middle East Institute’s Syria programme.

The 6,000 bombs dropped on Gaza in the first six days, as claimed by the Israeli air force, had already exceeded the rate of US bombing of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, which averaged 2,500 per month across 46,000 square miles," he added.

NOTE: This article is from October 17. There, Israel wiped out 47 bloodlines (which means 30 to 80 persons EACH family name.) As of October 30, 2023, that number has risen to 881 families taken off the civilian registry. Whole bloodlines, gone.

As of November 25? 20,000 were killed in total. And 8,176 of them are children.

Don’t talk to me if you support Israel, even after everything you’ve read in this post.

FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸

A focus on fighting terror would also obscure the “root causes” of the conflict.

“The narrative will be totally overwhelmed by terrorism and security. Whenever these things happen between Israel and Palestine, there is never a root discussion of settler colonialism, of occupation or dispossession,” said Chris Gunness, a former spokesman for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.

———

This BBC documentary takes place in 1982, years before Hamas existed. What was Israel’s excuse, then, for their massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias that took place after this?

Israel bombs Lebanon and Syria. Two completely different countries. There are no Hamas there. What’s the excuse?

•

They’ve committed all the stages of genocide, and all you have to do is open your eyes.

Israel are the terrorists!

A giant with all the advantages of their size (and a world power like the U.S, the biggest, backing them and funding them) is NOT the victim.

Israel isn’t even scared of the United Nations. Think about that! Nearly five dozen U.N staff members, as of October 30, were killed in Gaza because of Israel’s bombs. And all the U.N can do is hold a service for their colleagues??? Acting as if this is normal?

•

This is Palestine, BEFORE the Israeli occupation:

Where is your humanity?

Resistance does not happen in a vacuum.

Support Palestinians. Save Gaza. Free Palestine!

You don’t need to be religious. You don’t need to be a Muslim, Christian, or Jew. You just have to be human.

#palestine #genocide #free palestine #israel is a terrorist state #israel is an apartheid state #israel is committing genocide #gaza strip #palestinians #save gaza #spread awareness #ceasefire #white phosphorus #nearly a thousand lineages were wiped out by Israeli bombs which are 30 to 80 persons per family line #this is not a war IT IS GENOCIDE #free gaza #i stand with palestine #anti imperialism #save palestine #long post

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