Lighten Up By Ronald Wimberly

“Lighten Up” by Ronald Wimberly

Beautifuly written- and drawn.

Late light and longing - Dmitri Cavender , 2001.

American, b. 1957 -

oil on canvas

My kid Kinan trying to stop me from going out because there’s bombing | Gaza [@/ MuhammadSmiry on X. 01/08/24.]

This baby is still learning to talk but he says "قصف"= "bombing" loud and clear. He lost his childhood before it even started. [@/ RudaynaIbrahim on X.]

The IOF continues to steal the childhoods of countless Palestinian children. I've seen so many videos of very blatant symptoms of PTSD -seeing emotional and psychological responses to triggers from sudden sounds and movements. You can see stress and anxiousness and fear in their eyes -even when we see videos of them smiling/being hugged and comforted by journalists, doctors, and neighbors/relatives in their communities -they have been robbed -so many of them for decades now and continuously of just being able to be children -to be free from violence and oppression.

I have also seen videos of their entire lives being changed instantaneously with a debilitating injury or amputation due to their communities/hospitals/homes being air-striked, to losing their entire families and being orphaned. I've seen videos of them lifeless in their parents arms -something no parent SHOULD EVER have to record and share to get the world to fucking pay attention.

These are 'experiences,' and circumstances NO child should EVER have to face in their life. I'd say where the hell has UNICEF been -because aren't you supposed to be protecting children's rights ALL around the world? Are Palestinian children not worthy of protection? Over 10,000 of them have been MURDERED by the IOF.

Children shouldn't have to be worried about hearing BOMBS -they should be talking about their school lives, their friends, how excited they are to go to the beach, to try new foods at a restaurant they want to go to, to travel -to do so many wonderful things but THIS is what they have to live with right now even with glimpses of light and hope...

I will say this time and again -the United Nations is disgraceful.

1/2 ❤️🖤🤍💚

I saw people do this & adopted it myself, and it’s actually been super helpful—set a daily reminder to do your arab.org click of the day. It has been said ad nauseam at this point, but if each person in the thousands of people who engage on palestine posts clicked on this, we’d be raising thousands in revenue towards humanitarian aid. Don’t think your one little click is unnecessary. It adds up fast—but only if you actually do it.

A lot of people asked how they can help if they don’t have funds to spare. This is the most passive way to raise donations towards Palestinian aid.