This interview features Shahad Abu Salama, a Palestinian scholar, artist, and activist from Jibalia refugee camp, discussing the profound personal and collective impact of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Shahad shares the immense grief of losing numerous family members and neighbors, highlighting the continuous struggle of survivors who lack essential medical care and face life-threatening conditions. She details her personal efforts to support and evacuate her family, underscoring the severe challenges and bureaucratic hurdles involved. The interview also sheds light on the grave dangers faced by journalists in Gaza, exemplified by her cousin Mahmood Abu Salama, who is targeted for his reporting amidst Israeli incitement campaigns. Shahad critically addresses the international community's inaction and the discriminatory treatment of Palestinian refugees, emphasizing the "open-ended funeral" Palestinians are enduring. The discussion concludes with an impassioned plea for global accountability, denouncing the normalization of suffering, and urging collective action to ensure the survival and future of Palestinians in Gaza.
The Ongoing Genocide in Gaza: A Personal Account and Call to Action
0:00 Introduction of Shahad Abu Salama: The interview introduces Shahad Abu Salama, a Palestinian scholar, activist, organizer, writer, and artist, originally from Jibalia refugee camp, who is advocating for her family in Gaza from abroad amidst the ongoing conflict.
1:02 Unrelenting Grief and Loss: Shahad describes the situation as an "open-ended funeral," detailing the profound grief of losing many loved ones, including her neighbor Alahama Abu, uncle Marwan, aunt Haneya, and cousins Yousef and Wasim, who were killed in Israeli attacks.
2:31 Devastation for Survivors: She highlights the dire circumstances of survivors, such as her 17-year-old cousin, Muhammad, who suffers from shrapnel injuries with virtually no medical care, and her 12-year-old cousin, Sara, who turned 12 the day her parents were killed and now deals with trauma and lacks education.
6:05 Personal Advocacy and Evacuation Efforts: Shahad maintains daily contact with her family, sends aid (despite 50% deductions from commissions), and has launched a fundraiser for their survival, evacuation, and potential resettlement; she has successfully evacuated six family members to Spain.
10:06 Family Home as a Mass Grave: She states that her grandparents' home in Jibalia refugee camp, where generations of her family were born, has been transformed by Israeli bombings into their family's mass grave, with relatives facing constant life-threatening situations.
11:15 Vulnerability of Children: Shahad emphasizes the extreme vulnerability of children like Wasim's infant son, Yousef (10 months old), who is growing up in a tent with no protection from explosives.
12:05 Targeted Journalists: She expresses deep concern for her cousin, Mahmood Abu Salama, a journalist in North Gaza, who is deliberately targeted and subjected to incitement campaigns by Israeli media (e.g., dismissing his work as "Tallywood") for documenting the truth.
21:12 Case of Orphaned Muhammad Halah Kmut: Shahad brings attention to Muhammad Halah Kmut, a 17-year-old orphaned relative (evacuated alone to Qatar at age 15), who desperately seeks reunification with his ill grandmother, Atal (Shahad's aunt, suffering from Crohn's disease and trapped in Gaza).
25:16 International Inaction and Double Standards: She criticizes the lack of international pressure on Israel to facilitate safe passage and highlights the discriminatory treatment of Palestinian refugees compared to those from other conflicts, observing a disturbing apathy from human rights organizations.
26:37 Unprecedented Dehumanization: Shahad condemns the "unprecedented dehumanization" of Palestinians, who are systematically denied basic human rights, including medical care, psychological support, education, and consistent access to food and water.
28:40 Refusal to Normalize Suffering: Shahad adamantly refuses to normalize the suffering, urging the global community to recognize its collective responsibility to act, drawing parallels to historical atrocities like the Holocaust, and insisting that Palestinians are not "born to die."
37:02 Call for Accountability and Justice: She concludes by asserting that Israel must be held accountable for its crimes and injustices across generations, urging continued advocacy for a free Palestine, and expressing profound sadness and rage while emphasizing an unbroken spirit of resistance.