Dear friends,

You know how I’m always banging on about being noisy? On Saturday, I took my own advice and, along with a handful of other local women, made an almighty racket to bring attention (more attention?) to the horrors of children being starved in Palestine. I tell you this, not because I think I’m special, but because I think I’m like so many of you, wondering what the hell I can possibly do in the face of this atrocity, knowing that I have to do SOMETHING.

How it happened

It happened like this. Just over a week ago, having signed yet another petition begging Prime Minister Mark Carney to DO SOMETHING to make Israel cease their relentless assaults on Palestinians, and, most urgently, to make Israel allow humanitarian aid into Gaza to prevent tens of thousands of children from starving to death, I – she who never gives up – sat paralyzed with grief and an utter sense of defeat. What in the hell can I possibly do beyond signing petitions? There are weekly protests I could attend, but I have physical limitations that make this difficult. I am so grateful to the hundreds of caring people who show up every Saturday to march the streets of downtown Victoria (as well as cities everywhere) to demand an end to Israel’s barbaric assaults. I am so grateful to the students all over the damn place doing what students have always done, standing up against injustice. So many people everywhere are demanding peace in Palestine, and very few people in power anywhere are listening. How can I effectively add my voice to the ever-growing cries for peace and justice in Palestine?

Having just signed that petition, I received an email from a friend addressed to the members of our recently formed activist group The Gang of Crones. She too, had just signed the petition and was frozen by grief. “We need to do SOMETHING!” her email said. Then another Crone responded with the idea of being noisy (she’s a regular reader of Letters From A Canadian).  Forty-eight hours later we had a name - Pots for Peace in Palestine, a Facebook Page, and an action planned for the upcoming Saturday. Friday evening 4 of us got together to make signs. And, on Saturday afternoon seven of us women of a certain age, wearing all black, and armed with pots, wooden spoons and signage occupied a busy intersection in one of the wealthier neighbourhoods of The Greater Victoria Area for the next 2 hours. We were NOISY! And we got a lot of attention from a lot of people who have probably not been downtown on a Saturday to witness or participate in the regular marches. We received a lot of honks (I assume in support) and thumbs ups, and thanks. This being a busy intersection, cars were forced to stop at red lights and see our signs. We saw quite a few parents speaking with their kids in their cars about our signs. Were they explaining what our sign “Stop Starving Babies” means in a 'child-friendly' way? How do we explain war crimes to our children without traumatizing them?

Action is Contagious

We came away exhausted and energized. Of all the people who honked, or waved, or shouted their support, how many might feel inspired to also take action against the genocide we are witnessing? Our newly formed Pots for Peace in Palestine group is planning on making our pot-banging protests a weekly action – how many of those people will join us?

Maybe other people in other cities who are feeling helpless might read this newsletter or see our Facebook posts and start some pot-banging actions in their own towns.  My hope is that all across Canada & the US, people will understand that they, too, can gather a handful of friends and go bang pots for peace in Palestine. You don’t need a huge group. You don’t need solid plans (though please do create a safety plan and designate a spokesperson to deal with the inevitable cop showing up or possible aggression). We may just be individuals or small groups taking actions, but every one of us who makes a noise for justice is part of a growing mass movement, and this week we just grew that movement for peace a little bigger. One day we will be too big and too noisy to ignore.

Hope in the Dark

Every action I take, every letter I write, I do so with the notion that perhaps THIS will be the action or letter that changes everything, the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. I love this anecdote from Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark about the unexpected outcome of a tiny anti-nuclear protest held in the early ‘60s by a group of housewives who were part of the Women’s Strike for Peace:

“The woman from WSP told of how foolish and futile she felt standing in the rain one morning protesting at the Kennedy White House. Years later she heard Dr. Benjamin Spock – who had become one of the most high-profile activists on the issue – say that the turning point for him was spotting a small group of women standing in the rain, protesting at the White House. If they were so passionately committed, he thought, he should give the issue more consideration himself.”

The point that Rebecca makes and that motivates me to continue to be noisy is that we don’t know, can’t possibly know what the outcome of our actions will be. We act because we are hopeful that we can make a positive impact on the world around us, but there are no guarantees. So saying, while we understand that the thing we’re protesting may not improve due to our actions (no matter how badly we want it to), there is every possibility that it will be our little action that results in a massive shift. We don’t know, but we can act with hope. What we do know is that if we do nothing, we cannot make this world a kinder, safer place, therefor we all must do something. We also know that we are not siloed beings and every action we take adds to a greater collective action, helping it grow.

The Parable of the Hummingbird and the Forest Fire

Somehow, I have made it this far in life not knowing about the parable of The Hummingbird and the Forest Fire, until recently when not one, but three different people mentioned it to me. I guess it came to mind for them as I’ve been waxing lyrical about the overarching message I am attempting to convey through Letters From A Canadian – that, no matter how small we are as individuals, we still have something to contribute to the group effort towards making the world better for everyone. As a huge fan of hummingbirds, I love this image of this teensy winged creature leading the way towards collective success. It reaffirms my conviction that we all have something valuable to contribute, even when everything feels futile and truly impossible. And our actions can and often do inspire others into action.

I hope that those of you who are feeling crippled with the heartbreak that comes from watching genocide in action will feel inspired to gather a few friends, make some signs, grab a pot and spoon, and head down to a busy intersection to make some noise. Start your own Pots for Peace in Palestine pot-banging action wherever you are. It may feel like such a small action, but it could just possibly be THE action that results in lasting peace.

Love and hope,

Jessica