Genocide & mass disablement

Disability Pride month has come to an end. It isn't just a month to celebrate disability pride, but also a month to talk about our history (including the painful aspects of our history) and the current struggles disabled people face. These are things we should be talking about always, not just the month of July. I had many ideas for things I wanted to write about this month, but a flare prevented me from writing as much as I wanted. But I didn't want this month to pass without taking the time to write about something that has always been extremely dire: the mass disablement of Palestinians at the hands of Israel and the US.

I know that despite how awful my flare has been, I'm lucky to have been able to try to cope with it in a safe home. I'm lucky to have been able to safely access healthcare. I'm lucky to have access to food and clean water. In the US, disabled people are extremely oppressed and life is really difficult for the majority of us. And yet we are still privileged enough to not be struggling to survive a genocide under an apartheid that has lasted for generations.

Even before this particular genocide, violence from Israelis left many Palestinians with physical disabilities and trauma. Then with this recent genocide, every day many more Palestinians are losing their limbs or ending up with other physical disabilities. Israel, US, and other Western countries are currently responsible for giving Palestinians so much more trauma and grief that will impact them for years to come. Infectious diseases have been spreading more rapidly in Gaza for a while, and Gazans are being deprived of ways to adequately protect themselves or treat those who are infected. There is also the increased stress, anxiety, depression, and the overall terror that genocide victims experience. On many different occasions, Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes and walk for miles - this is difficult for anyone, especially people with disabilities. One of the most disturbing reports was when a man with Down Syndrome, Mohammad Bhar, was killed after the IDF raided his home, forced his family out, and left him to be attacked by a military dog. This happened last July. Mohammad was 24 years old.

One thing that has disturbed me the most throughout this is the targeting of hospitals. Hospitals everywhere are known for being places full of vulnerable people in need of care, both those with long-term disabilities and health issues as well as those who may not be disabled but are still momentarily vulnerable as they are injured or experiencing a medical issue. On top of the horror of places like hospitals being suddenly evacuated or bombed while patients were in the middle of receiving wherever care they could still access, patients have also been without things that are typically considered essential in hospitals, such as anesthesia or other medicine, because of Israel’s siege on Gaza. Targeting hospitals is deliberate, it is a way to attack something so essential to the survival of any group of people. Targeting healthcare workers is another genocidal tactic because healthcare workers help people receive the care they need in order to survive. The fact that the targeting of hospitals and healthcare workers wasn't enough for all American politicians to call for a ceasefire tells you everything about what their values actually are.

The people of Gaza are being starved by Israel. Hunger as a tool of genocide is not new. During the Holocaust, there were “hunger houses” that starved disabled people who were deemed “unproductive” and “incurable.” I have been reading Forgotten Crimes: the Holocaust and People with Disabilities by Suzanne E. Evans, which I highly recommend if you want to learn more about the starvation and other forms of eugenics during the Holocaust. When starvation is used as a tool of genocide, it is known that the victims will either become much weaker or die. It is yet another form of deliberate mass disablement. Many Gazans already have disabilities or medical conditions and the added starvation will make their physical condition so much worse, and they are among the most vulnerable when it comes to death from starvation.

What can we do? Aside from the obvious - donating to organizations, calling for a ceasefire AND a free Palestine, protesting, confronting politicians and others playing an active role in the ongoing genocide, educating ourselves and others, and boycotting, please don't scroll past any Gazan you see asking for help, even if you can't donate at that time. You can still share and engage with their posts. It's the absolute least we can do while our tax dollars are funding this genocide. Following any pro-Palestine organizations for specific calls to action is important as well.

And when American politicians claim to care about disability rights, remember the role they played in the mass disablement of the people of Gaza.