Sara Sadek: Our Roles As Witness

Feeling is an act of resistance that keeps us from becoming numb, detached, or feeling falsely separate from those being harmed. The way that the oppressor is harmed in these systems is by cutting themselves off from their humanity, so actively practicing feeling is a direct way to resist becoming numb or muted, which is to say, feeling is a primary way to resist taking on the characteristics of the oppressor.

Sara Sadek
Dear_White_Staffers, Capital Hill (IG), “Don’t ever let up even for a second. Call your Senator. Write to them. Show up at town halls or public events. We can move them all. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

I sent new letters to my state’s government officials this morning. I have felt shattered by the news and helpless to do anything to stop it beyond donations to organizations that may or may not have been able to help. Some have paid with their lives in their attempts to do so.

A few days ago, I read Sara’s article on Substack about being a witness. Being a witness is heartbreaking, but I can do this at least. I can also use my voice to write to my officials.

Dozens of US Staffers walked out this week in protest of their bosses’ refusal to listen to We the People. They are the ones who handle the calls and letters flooding these offices.

Dear Representative X,

I woke this week to a video of a Palestinian girl about my granddaughter’s age with tears streaming down her face. Between her tears, she said, “I feel like it would be better if I died with my mom. Everyone I love is gone. And all I see is suffering and misery.”

I woke this week to the news that the Israeli military stormed El Shifa hospital, where 39 NICU babies are struggling to survive after being forcibly removed from ventilators due to bombing funded by our US tax dollars. There are displaced civilians — children — wounded, hungry, thirsty, and panicked—trapped inside El Shifa, and our government is aiding and abetting a total disregard for basic civilian life.

I woke this week to the news that along with the over 4,000 children killed, our tax dollars have funded 700,000 children being forcibly expelled from their homes. I watched rain fall on Gaza one night, with children sleeping outside, soaking and hungry. I watched as journalists documented empty shelves in all of the grocery stories.

Gaza is cut off from all communications once again, but their stories are with us, and we will not be silent. I implore you to call for a ceasefire now. I implore you to demand that hospitals, children, and civilians be protected. I implore you to demand adequate humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

You are here to represent the people, and I implore you to act accordingly.

Sincerely,

NF

______

Dear Senator Y,

As I write this, dozens of NICU babies in El Shifa Hospital in Gaza are struggling to survive after being forced off their ventilators by Israel’s attacks on hospitals. Attacking hospitals is a war crime.

As I write this, over 4,000 children have been killed, with thousands more stuck unaccounted for under rubble.

As I write this, 700,000 children have been displaced in Gaza by our support for Israel’s military, aiding and abetting a complete disregard for their civilian lives.

Today, I saw an image of a girl, about 8, dead under rubble as civilians tried to extract her remains. Today, I saw a video of an 18-month-old baby with no surviving family after Israel’s military bombed her home with my tax dollars. Today, I saw the photo of two girls, Nouran and Razan, who were killed by the Israeli military while filling water buckets for their families. Today, I saw a photo of Melissa, a one-year-old, who was left paralyzed after Israel’s military killed 60 of her family members.

The NICU babies’ lives are in our hands. The children of Gaza’s lives are in our hands. Their families’ lives are in our hands. I implore you to call for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and the most basic regard for protecting civilian and children’s lives. They need food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical aid. We are running out of time. We need a ceasefire now.

We will keep calling. We will keep emailing. We ask that you use your power to make the hemorrhage of life stop.

Sincerely,
NF

___

Dear Senator Z,

This week, we watched in horror as 39 NICU babies were removed from ventilators because Israeli bombs funded by our tax dollars attacked hospitals and destroyed generators. We watch in horror as these babies died slow deaths with no mothers or fathers to hold them, as they’ve all been forced to evacuate south miles and miles away on foot.

We watched in horror as a woman—just hours postpartum, was forced to evacuate the hospital and walk with her newborn for hours and hours south, with no stops for rest or breastfeeding.

We watched in horror as Israel’s military—funded by our tax dollars—bombarded and besieged hospitals. We watched in horror as snipers and bombs killed doctors, medical staff, and wounded patients. We watched in horror as the remaining doctors attempted to treat the wounded with no electricity, no wound dressings, no water, no food, and no anesthesia.

We watched a little girl’s face after she endured a dozen stitches to the head with no anesthesia. We watched a woman with a just-amputated leg forced to evacuate the hospital and trek for miles and miles south. We watched a four-year-old girl grieve her two parents. We watched our tax dollars fund the destruction of six hospitals, including children’s hospitals.

I implore you to call for a ceasefire now. I implore you to demand that hospitals, children, and civilians be protected. I implore you to demand adequate humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

You are here to represent the people, and I implore you to act accordingly.

Sincerely,
NF

Image poem, templates courtesy of Sara Sadek, Substack: Our Role as Witness: Center, Humanize & Amplify Palestinian Narratives