It’s a wonderful thing that you have donated your Face Book status message. Really it shows that you are aware of what is going on and that you care. Now, have you donated money, medicine, food or any kind of tangible item that can actually help the people in Gaza? Is there a FaceBook app which can tell us how much money has been collected and a link for people to donate more to encourage the donation of money? The numbers are devastating and saddening but publicly stating what is already known does no good.
Financial aid is needed now for treatment of the wounded, food, clothing, shelter and power. You can easily donate from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access. In Egypt you can head over to the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, they have been helping send donations to Gaza and Palestine since the beginning of the siege, these are doctors and administrators who leave their homes, jobs and families for days and weeks waiting at the border in Rafah to make sure that the supplies get through the borders.
It also gives this sense that the problem can go away if the killing stops and the numbers stop rising. Has anyone thought how much money Gaza will need to rebuild its infrastructure? How much money will be needed to help support the widdows, orphans and the people who will need medical care for the coming months? How much money will be needed to rebuild schools and put young men and women through college so they can replace the doctors and engineers who have been killed? Once the attacks are over and Israel has completely demolished everything in Gaza will you still remember and will you still care?
There is a humanitarian crisis right now. Your face book status is of no value, it is just a reminder of how powerless we all are and how we choose to show our solidarity by a couple of words on a status instead of finding ways to help no matter how simple or simplistic they might appear.
