Your blood reached the shores of Gaza before your aid

Just like millions of other ordinary people, when I switched on my telly this morning, I came across horrific pictures and videos of a Palestinian convoy being shot in cold blood by the Israeli army at the instruction of the Israeli government. I simply couldn't believe my eyes! My heart sank and I could feel tears streaming down my face. It all seemed impossible. Anger filled up inside me as I came to the realisation that not one thing was being done to stop these massacres from taking place. What was this 'so called' war based on? War against innocent civilians? War against sticks and stones? War against children, women and elderly? War against a humanitarian ship? War against PEACE?

Yet at that specific moment, the only word that came to mind was - why do they think they could get away with it?

Why?

Our government talks about international community, talks about the moral of law, but then allows Israel to do EXACTLY what it wants...year after year? We watch these crimes take place right in front of our eyes, half of the news being completely ignored by the media and swiped under a carpet, the truth hidden, curtains placed right in front of our eyes and our voices ignored. Where is the justice? Where are the serious sanctions against the government?

But hold on a sec, we then hear that the UN has decided to call for an enquiry. Enquiry of what? 20 people have been brutally murdered on the ship and all the government can do is call for an enquiry? We don't need an enquiry. The truth is out there, right in front of our eyes. We KNOW what's been done to the people of gaza. We know about the bombings. We know about the blockade. We know about the illegal immigration. We know about the settlements on the west bank.

Attending today's protest in front of the Israeli Embassy is not just to express sadness and send our condolences to the families of the people who have died - that is only one part of it. We want to show the government that WE are angry. We demand justice. It is time for people to reccognize the injustice made against the Palestinian's. It is time for peace and harmony to prevail. It is time our voices were not just heard but LISTENED. This must be accomplished without violence. Blame needs to be replaced with cooperation. We can despair and curse, and change nothing. We can choose evil, just like the zionists, and create a world based on hate.

OR, we can try to make things better, since 'Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.' (Martin Luther King).

Bugünün işini yarına bırakma

Don't leave today's job for another day

As the title suggests, I've been putting off blogging for a while. The constant excuses seem to keep popping up - 'I have too much work to do' - 'I have to clean the house' - 'it's too late now' - 'I have to read xyz.' Of course there can be good reasons for putting things off since timing is important and I can’t do everything at once – but if you’re anything like me there are things that you know you probably should be doing that you’re simply procrastinating about. IN FACT right this minute my brothers are calling me too watch Shutter Island with them and ditch blogging. It seems that I never get a 'me' time, where I could simply sit and reflect on my life and its daily ongoings. Even when I am alone, I always seem to find myself occupied with other things, whether it's cleaning the house, reading a book or simply watching something on telly. Every time I sit down to writing something, I never get past the 'title' stage (I have notebooks with about 10 different plans that never eventuated).

Why didn’t I do it? Was it laziness…. or busyness….? If I’m honest about it, I’m sure it’d be a bit of both of those things – however I suspect it was also partly fear that held me back. Fear? Of what, you'd think?

Fear of writing and being misunderstood. Funnily enough, when it came to debating current issues, I've always been able to articulate myself in a good way. I've been outspoken with my friends, confident in my views and never refrained from defending what I honestly and truly believed in. But putting my thoughts on to paper seemed really difficult because THAT WAS IT, once you clicked the 'publish post' button, those words that you so easily constructed in your mind, would be displayed on the world wide web and perhaps even taken out of context. I had to rely on the words on the page to express meaning and ideas and this seemed far too restrictive and would require following a standardised form of grammar, structure, organization, and vocabulary. In the 'real world', speech was free from boundaries, I would use my voice and body language to communicate my message, emphasising on certain words or raising/lowering my tone when needed. I loved the spontaneity of speech, it was unplanned and free. And most importantly, I KNEW my audience and I had many opportunities to convey my opinion, even if misunderstood at first.

Actually – saying I was too busy might sound a bit better – I sound very conscious! But in the end – I knew that if I didn’t continue with my blog that I’d be kicking myself later. The time came for me to draw a line in the sand and just do it. I don’t have any secret strategies for getting over the hump of getting myself into gear really - well, except a change in attitude and a bold writing on my cupboard written with permanent marker!

''BUGUNUN ISINI YARINA BIRAKMA''