climate

This year will be the year that the world finally wakes up to the absolute reality of Israeli apartheid.

But it is not a given. Governments still continue to fund Israel. Yesterday, in full view of the asymmetric warfare that kills massively more Palestinians, The Biden administration approved a $735 million deal for precision-guided weapons.

With all the documentary evidence of this apartheid; live videos, firsthand testimonies, Instagram stories, etc., ostensibly “liberal” media outlets like La Sexta and the New York Times knowingly distort the situation.

My tolerance for bullshit is very low these days. Israel and IDF social media accounts make memes and use rocket emojis, trying to convince us that what we’re seeing isn’t really what we’re seeing. Or the Arabic account incorrectly citing Qur’anic verses. Or it’s too complicated. Or this is another incident in the tit-for-tat Middle East conflict and “they’ve been fighting for thousands of years”. Or it’s a religious conflict. If you find any of these excuses resonant with you, perhaps you can start by listening to a Citations Needed podcast episode debunking the 5 most common Anti-Palestinian talking points.

Without a seat in parliament or congress, without financial or political capital, there’s very little I can do. Except use my voice, however small or insignificant.

The Galician Committee of International Solidarity Mar de Lumes, along with many other organizations such as BDS Galiza and Asociación Galaico Árabe Jenin, put out a manifesto for the integrity of Palestine:

Palestinian occupation began formally in 1947 and is to the day a capital crime. A crime against the people perpetuated with military force which constantly ignores international condemnation. The occupation of Palestine is also a crime against humanity. It has direct culprits that don’t even try to hide the weight of their bloodshed. This is why it demands a clear and staunch position, a frontal condemnation.

This evening, we will fill the streets and plazas of over two dozen Galician towns and cities to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Palestine to say “No More! Basta Ya!” To show our neighbors and our governments what is happening to civilians in Gaza, in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, and in the diaspora. One day, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

It’s hard to ignore the ubiquity of eucalyptus in Galicia, especially on the coast. Introduced to and spread throughout the region as a cash crop for paper pulp, a eucalypt plantation is low-maintenance and fast-growing. It’s also notoriously fire-prone and a scourge for autochthonous flora and fauna. With so many Galicians having emigrated to other countries or the cities, agricultural labor is sparse in the rural areas and it’s easy to see why land owners would plant it.

Forest fires, usually intentionally set, worry many in the area. Most of Galicia has been under “extreme” fire risk for the last few days. There are even Twitter accounts to monitor bombeiro activity.

This forestry map was shared by journalist David Lombao on Twitter. The provinces with the least eucalyptus are Lugo and Ourense.

It’s my Saturday today. I’ve been out on the terrace, watching the fig tree away with the breeze. There are more insects buzzing, snails crawling up the stone walls, and birds darting between the electrical and phone lines that surround our house. I’m also playing around with the vintage camera app Vooravo for some retro-looking photos around the house. I’m bored of photographing the same trees from the well-worn paths of the monte.

This is one of those weekend mornings that reminds me of my years in Sierra Leone; the unhurried day, the privilege of watching time and life of the village pass by from a veranda, the warm sun on my body, the ability to read as much as I want to.

Grateful and guilty, which has been a recurring tension during the lockdown. Grateful to have had the privileges and opportunities to organize my life in this manner, and guilty knowing that not everyone is so lucky. But I know I’m in my head a lot, and that guilt will lead to paralysis or unnecessary suffering.

I misread a quote from some article a few weeks ago. In my head in went something like;

The best safeguard to life under late capitalism is withdrawing from it.

But it actually wasn’t that, at all. It was a critique, that the privileged ones, the ones with an inessential, work-from-home job are the ones who can safeguard themselves from coronavirus.

I recently talked to a friend, a madrileño musician from West Africa with a similar practical philosophy. He mentioned the protests in barrio de Salamanca and the incessant material desires that nag certain classes of people in the capital. It feels foreign, otherworldly. That wasn’t always the case, but a product of half of my life, maybe started after they extubated me. Who’s to say. But I think it’s possible that most can come to the conclusion that infinite growth on a finite planet is illogical.

We can thread the needle, withdraw from the capitalist mentality without completely withdrawing from society like Christopher McCandless; plant a garden, reduce costs and discourage consumption habits, prioritize immaterial experiences, read books, go for walks, re-valorize the countryside, or enjoy voluntary frugality in the city. Flatten the curve of coronavirus and of climate change by socially distancing and driving less, flying less, removing animal products from my diet, eating seasonally and locally. Prefigure a better world by thinking, talking, and planning other ways of organizing life and social relations. Want less, need less, and perhaps work less because of those priorities and that organized withdrawal.

For now, I’ll “do praxis” by non-participation, as much as I can, and theorize by writing into the void, ruining conversations with family and friends by talking climate, and reading Bookchin in my hammock. And I’ll never forget to enjoy the conference of the birds on the phone lines.