It took a long while for the disability rights movement to get the respect it demanded since the 1970s. Activists would not settle for being patronized or marginalized. The presence of activists in wheelchairs on the front lines in the Arab Spring uprisings, in the European anti-austerity protests, in other political activities has shown that disabilities of any kind are not an impediment to full participation in social & political life. Because oppressive regimes target the young to disable them, especially Palestinians & Kashmiris, disability rights has become not just integrated but central to the very fabric of political struggle in those places.
After all the wrenching images of little kids at the US border, in Gaza, Kashmir, Rohingya refugee camps, Syria, Yemen, & elsewhere, we need to remember that our commitment is to make this world suitable for little kids to live & laugh & love in. That commitment always keeps us grounded.
(Photo by Basit Zargar of little school kids in Kashmir)
The anger of this young boy attending the funeral of a militant in Kashmir last month explains why youth are always targeted in freedom struggles. Targeting children is not a new phenomenon in war, occupation, genocide. It was malignantly evident throughout the period of Jim Crow rule (US form of apartheid) particularly in the form of cartoons & “pickaninny art” showing Black infants being imperiled. The classic was a Black infant suspended by one hand holding a twig over a crocodile pit. Children represent a new generation of rebels against oppression & injustice & if they cannot be terrorized into quiescence & submission, they must be destroyed. That is why war, occupation, genocide are always children’s welfare issues.
We should take a moment to honor 70-year-old Kashmiri freedom activist Gulam Hasan Malik who just died in prison. So many millions around the world have died fighting tyranny; most are unknown. We honor all of them in honoring this Kashmiri freedom fighter:
“A famous militant of the ’90s and a popular pro-freedom activist in north Kashmir, 70-year-old Gulam Hasan Malik, better known as Noor Khan, died on Tuesday at Government Medical College Jammu a day after he was shifted to the hospital from Kot Balwal Jail, where was imprisoned under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) since January 27 this year.
A native of Gulistan village in Narvaw Baramulla, Gulam Hasan had his present house in Pehlipora Uri. He was arrested by Baramulla police on January 22 and a PSA detention order was slapped on him on January 27, after which he was shifted to Kot Balwal Jail in Jammu.
Gulam Hasan fell ill a few days ago while in Kot Balwal Jail. On Monday, he complained of serious pain in his chest, family sources said. The jail authorities shifted him to GMC Jammu on Monday evening. He breathed his last there today afternoon at about 3pm.”
The commentary & sarcasm being directed at the Talk to a Muslim social media campaign are simply brilliant in excoriation. This one is by Sarwar Baig:
“Look at him. Feisty little fellow, isn’t he? Observe the dense tufts of hair on his cheeks and chin. Look at the obscenely garish mehendi in his beard. Don’t get too close to the cage now. Don’t feed him. The fence is electrified for a reason. See that bulge under his bright tunic? That’s his explosive vest. Careful now. Go on. Talk to the katua.”
The governor of Jammu & Kashmir has ordered cable operators to shut down over 30 channels because “they have the potential to encourage violence & can disturb the law & order situation in Kashmir.” Included were one sports channel, two food channels, & one music channel. This follows the banning of 22 social media sites where ‘anti-national & inimical elements were spreading objectionable information.’ What the governor means is that Kashmiri activists have gone too far in educating the world about the violent character of the Indian military occupation & in campaigning for Kashmiri self-determination. Freedom of speech & of the press have become central political struggles for the oppressed.
Best friends, inseparable since childhood, 15-year-old Ameer al-Nemreh & 16-year-old Loay Kuhail from Gaza taking last selfie. Both boys were killed by an Israeli bomber while playing in a park last Saturday. Gaza mourns.
On June 9th, the 4-million member Student Federation of India (SFI) joined the BDS movement with a pledge to boycott Hewlett Packard (HP) because of its complicity in Israeli human rights crimes against Palestinians. HP provides the technology for military checkpoints, the ID system that controls & restricts the movement of Palestinians, & provides the Israeli navy with technology to impose the blockade.
The SFI resolution condemned Israel’s use of deadly force against unarmed protesters in the Great Return March in Gaza which caused 120 deaths & 13,000 injuries. It also criticized the Indian government for its growing military ties with Israel. HP stands to lose an estimated $120 million in revenues as a result of its complicity with Israel.
