Related to my last blog post, I took the liberty of copying/pasting this LinkedIn post.

Peace, MAA

Yehia Elkhouly

This picture here is the reason why I have been losing sleep over the plight of Palestinians. I can’t stand the dehumanization. I can’t stand the oppression. I can’t stand the arrogance.

Two stories in the same picture. One story is of a young lady having fun. The phone, the water bottle, the smile. It could be a photo any of us would take at work, at a party, or on a fun trip. Only difference here is that the main attraction in the photo is another human being who is being oppressed and humiliated.

The other story is of the lady in the background. Hands cuffed, blindfolded, looking down in fear and humiliation. Her story is the story of an entire nation.

5,000,000 human beings like the Palestinian lady in the background are controlled by 5,000,000 people like the young Israeli soldier. To people like this young lady, they are nothing but undesirable objects on sought-after land and resources.

Israelis kill them, humiliate them and oppress them for sport. Just for the fun of it. Israelis are blinded to the amount of suffering they inflict on an entire population because Palestinians to them are not humans.

But to me, Palestinians are beautiful, resilient, and brave humans. The bravest I have seen. This woman in the background is me. She is not free, and I am not free. She is being humiliated, and I am being humiliated. And I won’t settle until both of us are free from the dehumanization of those who think our lives are worth less.