I’m watching the flotilla members land in neighbouring countries having been released by Israel, and two thoughts occur to me:
- They seem to be holding on to anyone with skin darker than a decent tan.
- Where’s Greta?
And now there are reports that she is being tortured. Not waterboarded-and-whipped-through-Tel-Aviv torture, but mistreatment for sure: hair pulling, drinking from a toilet, being made to kiss the Israeli flag, etc., according to reports.
I feel sick…
I can’t even articulate why I have such a strong protective feeling over Greta Thunberg in particular. Only that she’s young (I think 22?), neurodivergent, and whether you agree or not, an incredible person. I can’t understand most people her age when they talk (what the hell is skibadee?), but here is this girl who, from such a young age, has stood up to power, fought for the planet and for the side of right, even when it’s seemed futile, even as mocking her seems to be an international pastime for mardy men and women twice, three, four times her age.
My daughter is neurodivergent, she’s 13. It takes no imagination at all to think how she would feel, how I would feel, if it was her in captivity. And she’s very justice-sensitive; I can foresee activism being a part of her future.
The comments on the news articles are as horrible as they are expected:
“Tell Israel to keep her.”
“She got what she deserved.”
Urghh…
Humans are ugly sometimes.
Update: She’s landed in Paris, she seems okay. When asked about her treatment she immediately stated that she will not talk about it, because she doesn’t want it to become the story and detract from the Gazans’ plight.
Fuck me, do we need more Gretas.
Image credit: Aniol, via Wikimedia Commons. Released under CC0 (public domain).
