We are living through genocide
How do we live in a world where people are more afraid to post about the mass murder of a population than they are to post themselves sat on the toilet?
Vogue’s move from the iconic Vogue House in the heart of central London to the Adelphi building on embankment after 65 years was an announcement met with sadness, nostalgia and a lot of media attention.
Witnessing the reaction from industry professionals and Vogue fans across social media on the relocation, I couldn’t help but think about the mass displacement in the Middle East - 1.4 million people in Gaza have been displaced with 692,000 residing in 150 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) emergency shelters, the UN News reports.
How does life carry on when we are living through genocide? Witnessing the ethnic cleansing of a people? Where is our humanity when innocent Palestinian, and Israeli, people are voiceless while we are free to switch off; to read a different news article; turn to a book or worry about an important meeting at work next week.
Before uploading Vogue’s ‘end of an era’ post to your Instagram story, remember that we are living through the end of a people, a country, the end of hundreds and thousands of peoples lives, of which every single one matters.
The war on Palestine is one of the longest ongoing conflicts in history. Palestinian territories have been occupied by military for over 5 decades, since the Six-Day War in 1967.
Of course there is other news, there are other tragedies, being cautious with your mental health when consuming news that is triggering and disturbing is important. But problems are always relative. And we are living through genocide.
What is happening to Palestine must be thought about. Daily. It must be at the forefront of our minds. Now is not the time to compartmentalise, categorise, to negate responsibility, and it is never the time to be silent.