Sinwar’s Legacy — A Reflection
This morning, I listened to the reading in English of Yahya Sinwar’s will and it made me reflect on two things. The first is how deeply we are indoctrinated into making quick judgements about people we don’t know. In our Western societies, we believe we are free, but we are not, we are propagandised into accepting the dehumanising stories of our ruling classes through its media. The narrative of the 'savage, brown, terrorist’, who must be subdued for 'civilisation’s' sake. Sinwar’s poetic final testament rips that propaganda apart and we see the man who would not give up his dignity, he would not kneel to his oppressor and destroyer, recognising that surrender is far worse than dying, as it condemns indigenous people to die and die again in multiple ways, physically, mentally, spiritually, culturally.
It is easy for us in our privileged places, that have not been subjected to colonialism & imperialism, who are not watching our community be annihilated, to debate the morality of violent resistance. We have that space to sit back and see and consider what we believe to be the bigger picture and the nuances, to intellectualise it, but what I am learning in a much deeper way in recent days, is that it is time for us to get over ourselves and our 'civilised’, colonised minds and step into the shoes of those our governments continue to try to subdue and ask our deepest selves, our souls, what would we be prepared to do in that situation to be free? That’s not to approve of any action, but to recognise what privilege affords us.
As I ask myself this question, I now also realise that Sinwar and others who have resisted, whether we agree with his and their methods or not…and my writing is not to share my personal opinion on this topic, expecially as an aspiring pacifist, it is to acknowledge for the first time, how he and they, were much freer than we have ever been, because they knew what living really was and what their life was for and they died fulfilling their purpose. Too many of us, as I was recently reminded of in the wisdom of one of my inspirations, Sophie Scholl, live our lives small and die having never actually lived.
My second reflection comes from the new spiritual journey I am undertaking, in which we are encouraged to connect with both our ancestors and our future descendants. It is their request, that not only do we hold on to the hope and belief that it does not need to be like this, that we can evolve as a species, which will begin the day we acknowledge our connectedness, and through that, birth a kinder, more fulfilling world, where we realise a shared future in which we can all self actualise; but additionally, that we use our lives to leave an imprint that future generations can draw strength and inspiration from. Regardless of how we individually, or our ruling classes, our indoctrinators, view Yahya Sinwar, he has achieved this for his descendants. THAT state & its sponsors did not kill Sinwar, they have memorialised him, maybe even beatified him, and he has become something that not a single one of their bullets or bombs can kill and because of this, they have already lost.
I am mindful that I write this at a time when journalists that I know, in our 'liberal democracy’, are being arrested, humiliated, and intimidated for just reporting the news, I offer my solidarity to them and honour the imprints they are leaving. Let us all be torches not flickering candles and may we all choose our way to burn, as only through this is there the promise of true freedom. Aho 🙏🏼
Slightly edited on the 3 December to include the fact I am an aspiring pacifist, due to what I believe to be a deliberate effort to misinterpret my words, during a time of political weaponisation of legislation.
