Why we need more ‘angry’ Greta Thunbergs

The Western world, except for a few European countries, has largely been silent over the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Two million people are living under extreme duress, the majority of them camping under the open sky, in the Gaza Strip. Since March 2 this year, all aid has been blocked from entering Gaza. Hunger has been weaponised. Children are dying not only from bombs, but also from hunger. In the face of such a grave humanitarian crisis, a few brave pro-Palestinian protesters, such as 22-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, headed for Gaza on a civilian vessel with aid. US President Donald J Trump mocked this effort and labelled Thunberg as "strange" and "angry," recommending "anger management" for her to learn techniques to change "unhelpful thoughts and behaviours."

People who care about the planet, except for a handful of cynics, are familiar with what Greta Thunberg has been doing since she took up activism. People have been impressed by her gentle, no-nonsense demeanour and concern for the planet. She has inspired millions to change their perspective beyond here and now, and onto the future. She challenged many big-name politicians to open their eyes to see how climate change poses a danger to our very existence. Her campaign against global warming resonates with how she wants the world to be: clean, safe, and hazard-free.

The same determination took Thunberg and a few more activists en route to Gaza to assist with much-needed aid. Her voyage on a boat called Madleen was being operated by the Freedom Flotilla coalition. But on June 10, the Israeli navy intercepted and seized their boat. All the activists on board were arrested. To make matters worse, the Israeli forces were sarcastically calling it a "celebrity selfie yacht."

Thunberg and three other activists agreed to an immediate deportation. They were put on a plane to Paris. The rest of the members refused to sign the deportation papers and were taken into custody. Upon arrival in Paris, Thunberg expressed great concern about the safety of her fellow activists in detention.

Before Thunberg's deportation, she was offered a sandwich wrapped in plastic by a soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), an image of which went viral on social media. The activist dismissed it as a mere "publicity stunt" by the IDF.

Since the beginning of Israel's brutal killings of the Palestinians, our collective conscience has failed to find answers. Most of us suffer in silence, unable to do much except protest. Very few courageous ones like Thunberg took it upon themselves to actually do something. However symbolic the group's action might have been, Donald Trump calling her "strange" and "angry" is unconscionable.

I just keep on praying that the killing of children and their parents in Gaza will stop. I start each day with my morning prayers, finding a sense of purpose and connection to the divine. A few mornings ago, my attention was disrupted by notifications of multiple texts on my phone. The text messages came in all at once. Instantly, l knew it was one of my family members texting from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. She knows this is when I would be just about done with praying.

The text messages contained a series of thought-provoking questions about the starving children of Gaza. "What I don't understand is why God would let this happen. If he knows the suffering, why doesn't he stop it?" Read the first one. "Why would children die of starvation? This I cannot understand," said the next. "Undoubtedly, this is the worst form of death," was my instantaneous reply. Then I added, "Thinking and rationalising that a human is less than a human does not justify all the murders of innocent people."

By weaponising starvation, isn't Israel sending the wrong message to the world that the lives of the Palestinians do not matter? And they are not really people like you and me? Why doesn't the humanitarian law apply to the Palestinians? This dehumanisation is something we must refuse to accept.

Children are dying of hunger in Gaza. Their parents are getting killed by bombs and drones while trying to fetch food parcels for their malnourished and starving children.

The aid distribution centres have become death traps. Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli drone attack on the morning of June 11 killed 31 aid seekers near a food distribution point in central Gaza. Two hundred more were injured in the attack.

When mass death from starvation looms in Gaza, mocking Thunberg will not solve anything. Being different most certainly doesn't mean one has to be characterised in derogatory terms. The world needs many more "strange" and "angry" Greta Thunbergs at this moment. Donald Trump here has an opportunity to be remembered on the pages of history books as a "do-gooder" if he can persuade Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the genocide in Gaza. Otherwise, this systematic extermination of a nation will haunt us, our children, and grandchildren in the years that lie ahead.

Zeenat Khan is a contributor to South Asia-based journals and magazines.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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