Saira Arshad is a travel, fashion and lifestyle influencer. She is a “nomad-turned-mother” who has lived in Kuwait, Dubai and Toronto within the last decade. She is also Muslim. We asked her to weigh in on the current situation in the Middle East, as part of our ongoing effort to facilitate kind and compassionate conversation around this crisis. —Vita Daily
What’s your take on the current situation in the middle east?
Criminal. Heartbreaking. Horrific. Many of your readers may be unaware that the Israeli colonization and occupation of Palestine did not just start 12 days ago, rather over 75 years ago when Israel was established as a settler colony. The genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people is happening before our very eyes yet the world remains silent. The lack of outrage by leaders, commentators and the media at what’s happening in Gaza is hypocritical because we have just witnessed global unity towards Ukraine but the world has not responded to Palestine in the same way. It has been said that the settler colony of Israel has the right to defend itself but the collective punishment of the people of Gaza by shutting down their water and fuel, and forcing them to leave their homes is in breach of international war and is not a proportionate response.
How does it make you feel as a Canadian, a mother, and Muslim?
Extremely disappointed as a Canadian to hear our leaders condone and support war crimes, whilst using specific language to ostracize the colonized and oppressed. The effect that has already had, and will continue to have in the rise of Islamophobia in Canada is terrifying. Attacks on residential streets in Pickering, the distasteful posting by a ReMax broker, our minister of education deleting Islamophobic comments, and the call from Markham Library to remove merchandising for Islamic Heritage Month in fear of being “perceived as taking a particular side” to name a few. At a time where we as Canadians should be uniting against oppression and the obliteration of children, it seems as though we are doing the opposite. As a mother it breaks me. The wails of loss and despair that I’m constantly hearing and witnessing on my screens are sounds and images that replay in my head throughout the day. Without exaggeration, babies are being blown up into pieces, fathers are carrying the limbs of their children in plastic bags, and nobody seems to care.
Is it difficult to go about business as usual at the moment? Thoughts on managing that?
It’s extremely difficult because how can one continue to live as business as usual knowing a genocide is taking place? We have a saying of the Prophet Muhammad that if one part of the Muslim community is hurting then the whole body of the community hurts and feels their pain. We are all hurting. What makes it more difficult is that a lot of people continue to remain silent on the issue or claim they don’t know enough about the history to take a stance. This is not a religious war. You can lack knowledge on an issue and still denounce attacks on innocent civilians and ongoing war crimes.
Observations around social media past few days? Has response been appropriate? Does it really matter what happens on social media?
Yes it absolutely does, especially since Canadians are blocked from news outlets. Mainstream media and news outlets are unfortunately showing only one side of the war and villainizing Muslims, Arabs, and the Palestinian people; this is a constant and has been a constant for the past week. Coverage by reporters and civilians who are on the grounds in Gaza are showing the unbiased, unedited truth of what is truly happening. This is the first genocide that is completely obvious and taking place in real time because of social media. We often wonder how the world allowed past atrocities and genocides to take place; “didn’t anyone know?” We know this time, the question is what are we going to do about it?
Advice and insight for people reading who feel removed personally from the situation to gain more knowledge and understanding?
You can and should call for an end to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians while condemning violence because it’s wrong. It’s inhumane. It’s illegal. It goes against the Geneva Convention of Human Rights. Awareness is also resistance. There is no excuse for ‘not knowing’ in this day and age. I’m sure it’s flooding your social media just as much as it is mine; it’s no longer a secret. Multiple pages on social media are being updated daily, educating you on the situation in real-time, alongside books, videos, podcasts giving you more in-depth knowledge to the history of Palestine and its colonization. I’d highly recommend the following pages to use as a starting point:
- @sbeih.jpg
- @gazangirl
- @byplestia
- @letstalkpalestine
- @jewishvoiceforpeace
- @motaz_azaiza
- @khaledbeydoun
So much is being said about Israel, but is this about Jews and anti-semitism?
No this isn’t about Jews and anti-semitism. Critiquing settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing is not anti-Semitic. Recognizing what is happening in Palestine and taking a stand for injustice is not a debate of us-versus-them despite what mainstream media might want you to believe. There are a number of Jewish people standing in solidarity with Palestine, “no longer allowing the suffering of their own people to be weaponized against others.” Just a few days ago, Jewish Voice for Peace activists took to the U.S Capitol demanding Congress call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza wearing shirts that read ‘not in our name’. No one should live under the threat of violence and oppression be they Palestinian or Israeli.
Good effective ways to help atm?
Effective ways to help at the moment would be to break your silence. Take a stand against genocide and ethnic cleansing because it’s really not that complicated. Go to a protest, share things on social media, donate to the multiple fundraisers for aid to Gaza. “Don’t let your fear of saying the wrong thing paralyze you into silence.”
What is ultimately the outcome here?
An end to the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the Palestinian people. An end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and to decolonize and liberate the Palestinian people so they may be free once again.
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