I’m sitting down to write this only a few days after a new video was released of Israeli girls who were taken hostage by Hamas. It is videos, images, and devastating news stories like this that make me want to seclude myself from the world, cover my eyes, and plug my ears. And the saddest part is that there are hundreds of just as, if not more, devastating pictures and footage of starving and injured children in Gaza and other conflict zones around the world.
Attempting to be as loud as my reclusive impulse is another part of me that knows that I do have some duty to not only bear witness, but also to do what I can to make things better. This is especially the case given the US’s role in many conflicts, including their support for Israel in the Israel-Gaza War. But what does making a difference look like? How can we balance our own well-being with activism? And how much can our activism actually achieve? These are questions that have been heavy on my mind lately.
I went to my city’s first protest to advocate for a ceasefire and an end to the US’s complicity in Israeli war crimes way back in November 2023. I filled out the online forms that would send letters to my congressmen urging them to hold Israel accountable. I posted online urging people to read free ebooks to learn more about the historical origins of the conflict and shared thoughtful commentaries. Now, in May 2024, it feels like these efforts have had very little impact. And though I went to the first protest, I didn’t go to the second, third, fourth, nor any other progressive iteration. If you ask any Palestinian activist, they would surely tell me to do more.
Yet, not only do I struggle with how much I should stop my life and how much I should financially sacrifice to help, I also struggle to know which conflicts and crises deserve my attention. And trying to stay up-to-date on all the horrible things happening around the world, seems to only evoke feelings of powerlessness and misery.
Someone once said that being an activist is like being on an airplane when the oxygen masks come down; you must put your mask on first, before assisting others. They argued that it was important to practice self care which could mean prioritizing adequate rest, meals, and exercise, even while performing potentially life-saving work.
While I like this analogy, I often struggle to determine where the line is. Why do I get to go out to dinner with my friends while people in Gaza starve? And while the Israel-Gaza War is currently taking over most headlines, what about Sudan, Yemen, and the continuing persecution of Uyghurs in China, even though these conflicts and crises have mostly fallen out of the mainstream news? And when is a protest actually helping or just a way for people to feel self-satisfied as they return to their comfortable lives?
As the world seems poised to break out into increasing levels of conflict everyday, these questions become even more relevant. Unfortunately, I have no answers to give as I struggle to work out how to balance this in my own life. For now, I will continue to try to find ways to help that feel tangible and impactful while expressing empathy for those impacted by such horrible events. But I do this with an increasing sense of guilt as my life and the lives of those affected by crises both around the world and within my own city, seem to diverge further.
Let me know what you think. How do you balance remaining educated about global affairs without letting it impact your mental health? Where do you draw the line between doing everything you can to help and prioritizing your own well-being?
I will be sure to share any further insights here as I reflect on this topic. In the meantime, here is an article about practicing self-compassion as an activist that helped me to think about this topic more.
I also want to share an incredibly thoughtful and powerful essay by Palestinian scholar Dana El Kurd: A Palestinian scholar describes the whiplash of learning about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks while visiting the Jewish Museum of Berlin, and reflects on moral juxtapositions and worlds overturned
And here is the link to those free ebooks on Palestine: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/495-free-ebooks-for-a-free-palestine I cannot personally vouch for all of these books but it’s a good (free) jumping off point to start if you want to learn more!
