Berlin, Germany #StandWithKashmir vigil, October 27th, 2019.
Monthly Archives: October 2019
Frequently, I receive crowdfunding appeals for money for individuals with considerable needs, especially medical & immigration needs. The fundraising I do on my wall is primarily for medical needs for Palestinians & Bhopal victims. But many of the appeals are from people who really need help. If you have some extra money for contributions, please let me know & I can send you the crowdfunding appeals. Such contributions make a huge difference in people’s lives. It’s hard for them to make the appeal even when they desperately need it so please consider donating.
“Stop calling it “communal violence” when it’s clear that it’s anti-Muslim violence. Don’t call it a “riot” because it’s actually a state-engineered pogrom. Stop using vague words like “scuffle between two groups” when the evidence points to a hate crime. Don’t just call it “mob violence” because the mob enjoys institutional impunity from state agencies.”
–Heba Ahmed
(Reposted from October 26, 2018)
“From that day on when India forcibly took control of Kashmir:
Our each morning is mourning.
Each Day, we shoulder the coffins of our brothers.
Each day, we attend funerals of our martyrs.
Each day is black day.
Each day Kashmir bleeds.”
–Zara Ali 🇵🇰 🍁@Iam_ZaraAli on Twitter
(Reposting from October 26, 2018)
The artwork of Rollie Mukherjee in solidarity with Kashmir combined with the poetry of Uzma Falak:
” Memory resides in our stoic stares,
in the gaze of their blood-shot eyes
in the defiance of our bodies
in the weight of their sovereign torsos
in the prayer on our lips,
our screams piercing heavens
in the stench of their alcohol breaths
in the persistence of our feet
in the sound of their boots and barrels
in the folds of our scarves and hems
in the gaud of their insignia,
certifying carte blanche
Memory is a room invaded
and turned into a battlefield
Memory is the battlefield.”
–from “Colonial Nostalgia” by Uzma Falak (the complete poem is in this article)
83 days: Kashmir Caged, by Rollie Mukherjee.
“To all those people who ask me ‘what is happening in Kashmir?’
Here is the answer.
This is the funeral procession of a civilian who was killed. The mourners are not allowed to take the corpse to the graveyard and are being dispersed by pellets, teargas shelling. The dead is not given funeral rights in Kashmir and the living are not allowed to mourn. That’s what’s happening”
–Aabid Ibn Bashir
Kashmiri activist Jaina Maina is being trolled in a misogynist & hateful way by Islamophobes & Hindutvavadis, including calling in their hate groups like United Against Islamic Terror for mass stalking her Facebook page. When she sharply responded to their trolling on her own wall, Facebook slapped her with a three-day suspension rather than issue a warning or suspension to the hate groups. Are misogyny, Muslim-hating, & fascist nationalism not violations of Facebook community standards?
There are troubling developments in the case of 8-year-old Asifa Bano, the Muslim nomad child who was gang-raped & murdered by several men in a Hindu temple in January 2018. It appears authorities are attempting to undo the convictions & get the rapists-murderers freed citing forced testimony & police investigator misconduct. In trying to understand what these legal developments mean for this little girl & for justice, I notice that all Indian media refer to her as the ‘Kathua rape case’ & none cite her by name. Since the entire world knows who she is, is there a legitimate reason for this omission? Because it appears as a way to depersonalize & detach from the unspeakable violence against a tiny child.
(Photo is Asifa Bano. May she Rest In Peace & see justice.)
The Committee to Protect Journalists writes about India’s obsessive attempts to suppress Kashmiri voices on Twitter. Before Kashmiri activists used social media to educate, India could portray itself as the ‘world’s biggest democracy’. Now it stands exposed as the vanguard of fascism & that will impact its already devastated economy.
https://cpj.org/blog/2019/10/india-opaque-legal-process-suppress-kashmir-twitter.php?