Thoughts on Starting 2024: On the Frailty of Life, Solidarity and Gratitude
The hearings at The Hague begin today
It's been ten days since I posted on Instagram or published here.
I needed a break to rest and regroup. This last trimester has been intense. I am mentally and physically exhausted from processing grief and disappointment and feeling helpless amid all the chaos in the world, the injustice, and the killing of innocents. I want to do more than advocate and donate. I wish I could be there listening, comforting, carrying boxes, cooking, or helping in any way possible.
This short break has been good for disconnecting (partly) and meditating on the transition between the old and new year: what went down and what's ahead?
When I look back at 2023, it's home, sweet home, held together by days at the park, playing with my kids, writing, and occasional art projects.
We do what we can. Joyfully. We learn to be at peace with our reality and the time and resources we have. Rest is paramount. I have a wife and two children that need me at my best.
This year was also a stark reminder of the frailty of lifeāthat same reminder most of us felt during lockdown.
On September 5th, ten minutes after dropping my daughter at morning daycare, my minivan was totaled in a four-vehicle collision on the freeway. I smashed and tore the chassis of a Chevy classic pickup in half. Airbags, smoke, loud sounds, disorientation. It was a miracle to survive, said the paramedics and the police. I thank God daily for guarding and protecting me.
It's a gift to be alive. It's a privilege to put my children to sleep safely and comfortably. Millions of parents around the world have no idea what this is. In Gaza, parents sleep with their children, so they die together if they get bombed during the night. I can't imagine the agony and desperation.
This reality elsewhere reminds me not to take my blessings for granted. To be thankful and mindful of those in need. To practice empathy and solidarity always.
Ask yourself in 2024: what can I do for myself and others? How can I use my skills and talents to improve the world?
Many people worldwide need us to find freedom, safety, and peace this year. People need our solidarity for peace and liberation, first and foremost, before prayers, encouraging messages, donations, food, and humanitarian aid. Tell the starving, the unjustly imprisoned, the occupied, the persecuted, the tortured, or the dead to pray.
In 2024, I will continue using my voice for the voiceless and those struggling in many ways. I want to bring hope where I'm invited and welcome. I have no desire to challenge those who don't want to see, don't want to hear, or don't have the time for either of them.
At this point, it is clear to me, and the vast majority of people around the world, that Israel will not stop the genocide voluntarily. They have taken over 30k innocent lives and 13k children and feel no remorse or guilt. Quite the opposite, they celebrate in the most wicked ways and post online for the world to seeāproud and shamelessly.
The world is asking for a ceasefire that keeps getting vetoed by the US and Israel alone. Christian nationalists continue to campaign pro-Israel. Vice-President Mike Pence signs missiles heading to Gaza and Lebanon.
The system is not broken; the system was designed like this so empires can maintain power, oppression, inequality, and control. Subjugation and slavery is an economic model. If a person or institution challenges the systems of oppression, they will suffer the consequences (censorship, fines, jail, fired from work, or the like).
Compassion or justice should not be trivial matters; yes, for some, but not for others. At the very least, we must recognize the suffering in others and make them feel seen, valued, and respected.
This may seem like nonsense or unrelated. But once you see it, you can't unsee it. It's impossible to ignore.
Global geopolitics continue to change, and new alliances are happening. The world has seen the empire has no clothes. Most young people polled worldwide have studied the situation in Palestine and support the cause. They are the future. We cannot continue to kill each other over land, power, control, or natural resources.
This 2024, I wish you all a year of humanity and common sense.
May love always prevail,
Jorge
I posted this on Instagram in anticipation of the historic trial set to begin today (1-11-24) at The International Court of Justice at The Hague where South Africa takes Israel to trial for committing genocide in Gaza in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention along with crimes of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.
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