O P I N I O N

BLACK in NH

by Emerald Anderson-Ford

I find myself at a loss for anything other than words of mourning intertwined with rage at what is transpiring in Gaza. Last Monday, seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers were murdered in a missile attack in the deconflicted zone of Gaza. Since the confirmation of the killings of the aid workers, executed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), other aid missions have been redirected away from the danger in the area. Most notably, Cyprus was sending a cargo ship with roughly 240 tons of aid to Palestinian civilians, and has now turned back with the aid undelivered. This leaves the Palestinian people to continue to suffer and die from starvation and lack of medical supplies and care. Since this unspeakable tragedy and violence against the most honorable actions of humankind, the Biden administration has spoken with the Israeli government, citing that unless their policies for protection of civilian life and humanitarian efforts change drastically, that the U.S. policy for support would also have to change.

But what does that mean in the here and now, and how can we trust elected officials who have continued to turn a blind eye to the blatant suffering of humanity, for their own interests and personal gain- even in its own backyard?

In the early 20th century, during American reconstruction and Jim Crow (1883-1935), over 3,300 Black Americans were lynched. During this time, in particular in the American South, lynching postcards, depicting large mobs of white folks viewing these atrocious acts of violence, were sent far and wide as souvenirs of the brutality. These barbaric artifacts of Americana proved to be multipurpose. Not only were they kept as a gruesome, yet fond, memory of the hate-filled actions of one set of citizens toward another, but they also were a very effective tool of deterrence for other Black Americans to steer clear of certain cities and towns. Black folks knew the immediate violent dangers, but were continually reminded of how unwelcomed they were from their slice of the American dream; and knew to take the warnings of the lynching postcards as a sign to stay away or meet a cruel death. 

What the IDF has done to the WCK feels very similar to a lynching postcard.

Reports note that WCK workers traveled in a deconflicted zone, were leaving a known aid warehouse, made sure to travel with vehicles branded with the WCK logo on the doors and roof, and made sure to coordinate its plans with the IDF. While there is no way to ensure that civilians and aid workers aren’t harmed in wartime, understanding the clear and intentional steps the WCK workers took to stay safe creates a real and reasonable fear for any other organizations to attempt to aid Palestinian civilians. 

While the IDF and Israeli government are guaranteeing that they are looking into how something like that could happen, other humanitarian organizations are faced with an impossible challenge to their integrity, safety, and humanity. The choice to move forward with entering into the West Bank with food and supplies, knowing that the safety nets set in place for such actions seem to be willfully ignored or to pause your mission and watch, alongside the rest of the world, as 95% of Palestinians starve and, ultimately, die.  

We are bearing witness to an extremely dark time in our collective history. And while there is the real possibility of backlash for writing this piece, I’ve come to a point where silence and unclear answers are no longer acceptable. As a Black woman from the American South, I know good collard greens when I eat them, and I know when a group of people is being deliberately kept from access to their right to life when I see it.

During this month of April, where we observe Arab-American Heritage Month, I employ everyone to stand in our shared humanity and speak up and against these atrocities. I write this to continue to lift up all hostages in captivity, all survivors of sexual abuse and assault at the hands of their captures, all people of Jewish faith who are warring with themselves to turn to tribalism to protect or to take the unforgiving risk of speaking out against unfathomable darkness that they also hold in their own lineages, for every follower of Islam who spent this Ramadan in complete shock and horror at the attacks of their brethren- of OUR brethren, and for the people of Palestine who have as much of a right to life as any one of us and are being openly denied it on a global stage. 

Is there a clear path forward for how to be engaged with this conflict without it feeling all-consuming? If so, that path hasn’t revealed itself yet. What is abundantly clear is that, as a species, we are looking down the barrel of two choices: revolution or apocalypse. This choice came knocking at our door two and three decades ago, and, as a collective, we continued to ignore that knock. Now we are seeing that by ignoring the choice, we’ve entrenched ourselves on the course towards apocalypse. We still have a small window of opportunity to course correct.

To preserve human life, and to honor the ethos of what humanity should be. Caring for the individual through the collective, and avoiding the trap of othering by understanding how all of our humanity and existence is tied to one another. Our shared future is dependent on the people of Gaza finding solace, safety, and care for the fullness of their humanity. A collective decision to prioritize people – humanity – over politics, access, and money. Over our own, individual wants, to secure our collective needs.

And while disappointment has continued to set in as I take stock of what’s happening in the world around us, I still hold a tiny, still dangerous, amount of hope for each of us. Otherwise, we’re all just receiving new-aged lynching postcards via our screens and letting them hang in our collective consciousness without care. We can do better.

You can reach Emerald Anderson-Ford at elanderson85@gmail.com