Enough to Whip Flags

“Cease fire now!”

“Cease fire now!“

“Cease fire now!“

I went to a march and before it, Palestinian speakers spoke on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol building. The wind was blowing not hard, but hard enough to whip flags. A Palestinian flag from a passing gentleman even flew in my face. I calmly brushed it away. The gentleman approached his son or nephew in the crowd and wrapped the flag around his shoulders.

            I was an outsider – always wanting to offer my support, but always too late. This time I could. And although I didn’t prep with anyone there, I was one more body in solidarity and one more voice to help amplify theirs.

            While on the steps before the march, I noticed two American Palestinian children playing on the steps. They were around my nephew’s age. They were laughing and smiling like my niece and nephew have done countless times.

            A person came around with a green marker offering it without explanation. I first waved them off. However, an older man approached me. His demeanor and dress was that of a pious man. He was maybe an Imam or a Rabbi. He explained to me that Palestinian children in Gaza write their names on their palms, so they may be identified and counted if they die. We were doing it in “solidarity” with them. Admittedly, “solidarity” was my word when I rushed into finish the pious man’s sentence. I thanked him. I wasn’t even sure that was the appropriate response.

            As I wrote my name on my palm in green marker, the reverberations of children: my niece and nephew, the American Palestinians on the steps, the hurt and murdered children across the sea in Gaza rang in my mind. They should be playing in yards and going to school like my niece and nephew. Or they should be playing unawares on the Capitol steps while good people try to make leaders listen. But they should not be dead. They should not be concerned of drones ahead or bombing raids. They should not be the backhanded recipients of American funded terror.

            We marched:

            “Free free Palestine!”

            “Cease fire now!”

            “From the river to the sea…”

            “… Palestine will be free.”