This is my cousin Momen’s child, Malak (“Angel”). She is 4 days old. She is one of the NICU babies in Rafah. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Let me tell you Malak’s story. 1/n
gofundme.com/f/urgent-appea…

https://twitter.com/theimeu/status/1789070932117749835

Sara, Malak’s mother, was worried the entire time she was pregnant because the doctors said she was not getting enough calcium. They had to subsist on what little food they could find in Gaza. They became especially worried with the continued threats of a Rafah invasion. They had watched Momen’s sister give birth in a classroom of a school, because the hospital was under siege and birthing persons couldn’t access the hospital. But nothing could prepare them for the night Malak was born. 2/n

Al-Jazeera Arabic is reporting that the U.S. is (finally) taking the lead on negotiations for a ceasefire. They are saying that the U.S. is indicating that they will finally pressure Israel to end the war on Gaza with a permanent ceasefire and will meet directly with Hamas leadership.

My commentary: This is interesting because the U.S. has not taken the lead in negotiations since Nov(?). if ever. If this is indeed true, then I suspect that this was driven in large part by the way Iran has played their hand in the last week. Iran refrained from retaliating against Israel, used psychological warfare to threaten retaliation but "when the time is right", sent Israel on high alert, and forced Israel to withdraw troops from Gaza in the case of a possible attack on the Israeli borders.

Note: Yes I saw that Israel is still threatening to invade Rafah, but I think this is posturing for leverage during the negotiations. It seems that the Houthis' have committed 400,000 fighters to support Iran should a full regional war break out with Israel -- further pressuring the U.S. to deliver on its ceasefire promise. /2n

Jordan should be trending right now. Protests have been blocking traffic; men have flooded the streets in such large numbers that even the repressive military force in Jordan can’t beat them into submission (something they frequently do); Protesters are chanting for Jordan to open its borders so they can march to Al-Aqsa. The political unrest in Jordan has been at a boiling point for years now.

High rates of unemployment particularly among young men; significant inflation; high housing costs; low wages; skyrocketing gas prices, electricity, groceries…hardly any industry. Repressive import taxes.

And a monarchy that pockets millions of US government aid in exchange for US military access. The monarchy is now holding on by a thread. 🧵 1/ Expect the Jordanian forces to increase their violence against protestors. Expect the U.S. to send in reinforcements in some shape or form—If the monarchy falls, it will not be a U.S. co-opted government that will organically take its place. It will not be an Israel friendly government. Expect the U.S. to meddle as they always have & to do everything they can to keep the monarchy in place. 2/n

Ok some important background/context on Fatah as a political party for those trying to make sense of what is going on…I’ll update this 🧵 if I think of any additional useful context.
1. Although this did not used to be the case, Pres. Abbas (the West Bank’s lackluster leader —of the Palestinian Authority) controls the Fatah party. They have tried to get him to step down for years & those that do are…silenced.
2. Abbas has been on the take from 🇮🇱 for years. (How else do his kids live lavishly abroad?). And Biden proposed that Abbas be the new leader of Gaza —so that should tell you all you need to know right there 🤣
3. Abbas has been known to be a 🐀 & cooperates & helps 🇮🇱 make arrests of any dissidents.
4. Abbas is extremely unpopular in the West Bank right now. Dec poll shows that 90% of those surveyed want him to retire. (see this article for explanations as to why: )
5. Abbas has refused to allow for election since he was elected in 2005. 1/nal-monitor.com/originals/2024… 6. When they had elections 20 years ago, when Hamas was elected in Gaza, the candidates from the competing party was Fatah. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Now—was it a fair election, ie not tampered with etc. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Idk.

7. Fatah doesn’t consider itself a political party…rather a “liberation movement”. But after they signed the Oslo Accord & Arafat was killed Abbas dumped the keffiyeh & put on a suit. Signing the Oslo Accord, meant giving up the armed resistance and this caused tremendous discord in Fatah & many many activists left the movement at this time. 2/n

I keep seeing politicians say that they wanted a ceasefire deal before Ramadan. Let me explain why that is -- why some politicians are afraid of the people rising up during Ramadan.

One of the central purposes of Ramadan is ask us to experience hunger and thirst and then to experience what it is like to not be able to eat or drink to quench the thirst or quell the hunger.

It is for an entire month, not just a day or a week, because it is to remind us that for some, this hardship is enduring.

It is encouraged that iftar meals, breaking of the fast every night, be shared with neighbors and friends so that no one goes hungry.

If one is unable to fast because of a medical condition, they can feed another person for a day -- the emphasis is again on remembering those who must go without food or water. 🧵1/n It is estimated that 1/4 of the world's population is Muslim, many of whom will be fasting for Ramadan. And while they are fasting, they will be thinking of the Palestinians in Gaza who are being starved.

When they cannot take a drink of water to quench their thirst, they will be thinking of the Palestinians in Gaza who cannot drink water because there is none to drink.

When they break their fast at iftar and are enjoying a meal in the evening, they will be thinking about the Palestinians in North Gaza who may be eating animal fodder to break their fasts. Not only will they be thinking about the Palestinians in Gaza, they will be experiencing just a small sliver of the hardship that Gazans are being forced to endure--and even that will feel nearly unbearable to them. Politicians are scared because shared living experience could be enough to see the toppling of Western backed regimes across the world. 2/n

Ya’ll thought I was being paranoid when I said Homeland Security was monitoring students and facultys’ personal communications. Biden literally put out a memo telling Homeland Security to do this & it was mentioned in his directive on anti-semitism. Anyone on a university campus or working for one should assume that some government contractor is reading all their texts. As I mentioned in the comments, this is push to instruct Homeland Security to spy on students & faculty at universities & colleges was from Israel’s Foreign Ministry & Diaspora Affairs Ministry that established a task force in Nov. 2023, & created “Israel's strategy against antisemitism on US campuses”. Here is their “multifaceted plan” which they made public. Remember Israel defines Anti-semitism as criticism against Israel.🧵2/n
Source: ynetnews.com/article/rk5ppr…

I’m starting a thread here of alternatives to GoFundMe for people who are just starting new campaigns to help people in 🇵🇸Palestine 🇵🇸 evacuate. GoFundMe is holding funds hostage. Use these alternatives for new campaigns. Pls get the word out.🧵 1/ LaunchGood 2/ 👇🏽

https://twitter.com/lasfarishtas/status/1760821137678721485

Spoke to Kareem’s sister today. She wanted to share more of his story. Please donate what you can. $5, $10, $20. 👇🏽 Please share widely on other social medial platforms, text messages…mobilization, small dollar donations and mutual aid is all we have left when our government fails us. 🧵 With Kareem’s story, he is suffering from severe & debilitating PTSD. 1/

gofund.me/98c41320 Kareem is only 11 & has lived through 3 wars. He suffered from PTSD from the constant bombing, but it has gotten so bad that he now blacks out when he hears the bombing & runs. His family is extremely concerned because he ran away & it took 7 hours before they found him the last time there a bombing nearby. He cannot sleep, control his urine, & has begun to self-harm. He needs psychiatric treatment & help yet there are no psychiatric hospitals left in Gaza. 2/
(Donate here: )gofund.me/98c41320

Ok let’s talk about the use of the word “martyr” to represent شهيد.

I’m not a linguist. The following is not an academic discussion, but based on my lived experience in the US & summers in Amman, Jordan.

(Many brown American kids who are first generation, summer with their grandparents to learn language, tradition & culture. And to maintain relationships with extended family.)

Gaza’s dialect of Arabic was my first language, concurrent with English. I learned both as an infant. My brain thinks in both Arabic in English.
🧵/1 A couple important premises:

1. Most words in Arabic do not have a 1 word literal translation.

2. Arabic is a figurative language. It’s poetic. We speak a lot in metaphors.

3. We don’t use a lot of adjectives & adverbs because there is so much richness in one Arabic word & the context in which it is said that we deliver more meaning with less words.

Sucks when you are to translate. I get it. But also—stop being lazy.

Arabs, stop pandering to English speakers & degrading the full meaning of the Arabic language just to pick a 1 word translation. Yes, it means that English speakers are going to have to do more thinking about what exactly a sentence means, but that is important.

Also, most 1 word to 1 word translations were strategically picked to further political agendas & stereotypes.

Ok, let’s play a game first. /2

What if I told you that I had a policy solution that would reduce the number of “drug dealers” by 90% or more and that this solution would also decrease the “prison population”? What if I said it is evidence-based and that it would nearly eliminate all overdose deaths?… /1 …this policy proposal would also significantly reduce the transmission of HIV, HEP-C, dramatically reduce healthcare costs, & hospital admissions amongst people who use drugs…the number of people in intractable pain who die by suicide & improve quality of life…/2