Gaza Children Watch Movies, US Funds Their 'Ruin'
While Palestinian filmmaker Mustafa al-Nabih brings movies to Gazan children 'out of the ruin,' a ruin funded, in part, by U.S. taxpayers. These are the same children who, according to a recent UNICEF report, face catastrophic levels of starvation and trauma, having endured relentless bombing campaigns. (USAID Administrator Samantha Power acknowledged in May 2024 that famine is already occurring
in northern Gaza.) How many children escaping 'ruin' today will be facing 'rubble' tomorrow, courtesy of weapons supplied by politicians like Representative Steny Hoyer, who has received over $100,000 from AIPAC since 2008 and consistently votes to funnel billions in unconditional aid to Israel? It’s a peculiar form of empathy: applaud the resilience of children watching films in the dark, while
ensuring the lights stay off on their future. One might wonder if providing actual safety, food, and homes would be more effective than a 'glimpse of a better reality' when that reality is constantly being bombed back to the Stone Age.