Don’t You Dare Say ‘Never Again’
I think the worst part of watching the situation in Gaza in the last three weeks unfold is the hypocrisy.
From the governments who endorse terrorism in the form of self defense for one party and condemn innocent civilians as ‘shields’ on the other. To the academics who love discussing colonialism and genocide in the classroom suddenly becoming mum when they see it play live on their screens. To the fans of Nelson Mandela and Malcom X who love celebrating their walks to freedom, but completely ignore what it took those people to get there.
If I’ve learnt anything from these few weeks, it’s that it’s so easy to talk about the past. Any student who went through the British education system will tell you the facts of the holocaust inside out. It was a topic we were taught and retaught nearly every year that it is ingrained in our memories.
The words ‘never again’ are forever etched into our hearts.
Yet the last three weeks showed us how little weight those words really hold to the very people who ingrained it in to us.
They are allowing history to repeat on their watch. In fact, they’re helping history repeat.
It’s loud and clear that ‘never again’ was just lip service.
—
On Friday night, as we tuned into the news to hear yet another reporter ask a Palestinian activist to condemn the killings of October 7th, while completely ignoring the pleas of the activist to look at the thousands of killings of the Palestinians before and after that one day, the first few words of this poem came to life.
The hypocrisy, the double standards, the blatant misinformation. I could feel my insides heating up.
This poem is for you, who keeps justifying the 7000 deaths of civilians. 3000 deaths of children. You, who keeps calling this self defense.
You have no right to say ‘never again’ ever again.
—
Don’t You Dare Say (A Poem)
Don’t you dare say
‘never again’
ever again.
You see the bombs raining,
buildings plunging.
And you just looked away.
Don’t you dare say
‘never again’
ever again.
You see the girl pulled from the rubble,
still holding her toy.
And you call it ‘complicated’.
Don’t you dare say
‘never again’
ever again.
You see the rows of shrouded bodies,
shrouds as small as the length of your arm.
And you call it ‘defending’.
Don’t you dare say
‘never again’
ever again.
You have the power to stop this today.
The power to make sure never again.
But you won’t.
Instead you’re covering , lying and misinforming.
You’re aiding, abetting and bankrolling.
So don’t you dare say
‘never again’
ever again.
You have no right to.
No right to utter those words.
To let those words cross your lips.
Because today, you let this happen yet again.
