Tag: South Africa

Five formally dressed lawyers sit at a long brown wood table at the International Court of Justice. They are South Africa's delegation, each dressed in black suits: three men have dark African skin, one lighter skin woman in the middle, and one European-descent man on the left. Two of them, and many people seated behind them wear long cloths with the colors of the post-Apartheid South African flag. A South African Broadcast Corporation news chyron at the bottom reads: "South Africa presents its case against Israel at the ICJ"

Gratitude for South Africans at the ICJ

Carwil Bjork-JamesLeave a comment

South Africa’s existence as the country it is now is the result of a remarkable global collective struggle that many US residents played a part in. This struggle was only in small measure a legal one, but it built on the ways democracy, anti-racism, and equality of all nations were built into the global legal architecture since 1945. Apartheid was overcome in part by UN institutions deeming apartheid itself a crime.

Perhaps some day, decades from now, Palestinians and Israelis will sit side-by-side and advocate for the rights of others (whether as representatives of two states or one), and will remember their own troubled history and how they overcame it by ending violence and ensuring equal rights for all. If so, it too will be in part because voices worldwide could not abide the violent present, and used every means they could, including courts and diplomacy, boycotts and arms embargoes to chart another path..

Empathy

Carwil Bjork-JamesLeave a comment

..means shared pain. Without it solidarity is impossible, and support is optional. With it, we on the trigger side of empire have a chance of uniting with the rest of humanity.

After several years of various activist stints against the Guantanamo Bay prison, I found that the group Outlandish had a song about it. Which led me to their moving piece “Try Not Cry.” Have a listen if you can, perhaps by checking out a home-made video here. Some of the lyrics:

Hmm, a little boy shot in the head / Just another kid sent out to get some bread / Not the first murder nor the last / Again and again a repetition of the past / Since the very first day same story / Young ones, old ones, some glory / How can it be, has the whole world turned blind? / Or is it just ’cause it’s only affecting my kind?!

I grew up with a kind of visceral affinity for kids throwing stones at tanks and riot police. South Africa, first of all. When an a form of oppression cuts you in two, it gets obvious. But Palestine too, where the first Intifada brought out those Mahmoud Darwish would call “the children of the stones,” shaming their elders with their refusal to accept their fate.

No matter how clearly I know that empire isn’t new, it still breaks my heart for my neighbors to be the ones driving the tanks now.

p.s. Also check out Outlandish’s video of Look Into My Eyes.