Saturday, March 20, 2010

Day 79

Dear Mr. President,

Today a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed. His death, which will escape notice of your office or comment from you entirely, is due largely to the fact that he was Palestinian. He had no guns, he had no knives, he had no bombs. This boy, this child was shot by the Israeli military because he threw stones at men with flak jackets and automatic weapons. Tell me, Mr. President, if this boy were not a Palestinian, would throwing rocks be justification enough for his murder? Where is our outrage now, Mr. President? Where is the diplomatic scandal, where is the phone call from Secretary Clinton? Have we lost so much perspective, so much humanity, that we are willing to summon more anger and the slighting of our Vice-President than we are at the murder of a child?

These riots will only continue, the anger will only grow worse. The Palestinians cannot sit idly by while their children are being shot in the streets. He was 16 years old, Mr. President. His name was Muhammad Qadus, and he was murdered in the streets of Nablus today because we allow the weak to be oppressed, because we look the other way as their rights and their land and their dignity are taken by the bullies we fund and arm and support, because we give them nothing but stones. Today, I am so ashamed of the world we have created.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

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