October 12, 2025 • 31 mins
We share Lila’s frontline account from Gaza and the mutual aid network she helps lead for children and orphans, weaving her poetry with hard facts about blockade, targeted healthcare, and the human cost of deliberate deprivation. We explain how to get funds and attention to people on the ground and how to build people power where you live.
• bonus context for Lila’s interview and work
• mutual aid logistics under bombardment and blackout
• how funds reach Gaza through trusted routes
• starvation as state policy and targeted healthcare
• One Health impacts of war on soil, animals, and people
• culture, propaganda, and language that normalize harm
• policing tactics abroad reflected in domestic policy
• Lila’s poetry as testimony and memory
• practical ways to donate, follow, and organize
Donate to direct action mutual aid campaigns. You can donate directly to Lila; follow Humans to Be and Lila’s handles in the show notes. Support Gaza Soup Kitchen, medical missions like Doctors Without Borders, and AWAG. Most importantly: do everything you can to hold our governance and our leaders accountable. Build people power. Use your voice because your voice matters.
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/no-time-to-die
License code: S4CEQWLNQXVZUMU4
Artwork and logo design by Misty Rae.
Special thanks to Joanna Roux for editing help.
Special thanks to the listeners and all the wonderful people who helped listen to and provide feedback on the episode's prerelease.
Please feel free to email Matt topics or suggestions, questions or feedback.
Matt@unitedstatesofPTSD.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another
episode of the United States atPTSD.
Today we are going to do a miniepisode that we're going to
release in between a coupleepisodes.
So this will be like a bonusepisode.
Erica, you had the privilege ofinterviewing somebody from Gaza
directly.
Yeah.
So we're I'm going to attachthat interview.
I think it was about 27-ishminutes or 26 minutes about.
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
I'm not so sure.
If it varies a little bit, Ifelt like it was shorter than
that.
It was shorter than that.
And I'll and yeah, so this isthis is an interview with Lila.
She is she runs and is acoordinator for a mutual aid
like organization in Gaza, whichis something that a lot of Gaza
(00:45):
community has done, where likethings like Gaza Soup Kitchen,
right?
There are a whole bunch ofdifferent organizations that
have engaged in this process ofmutual aid of answering a local
need.
And Lila is an example of that.
She is in her 20s, she's veryyoung.
And what she does is she workswith children and orphans for
(01:06):
mental health to try and bringsome joy into their lives in the
midst of experiencing agenocide.
So Humans to Be is a wonderfulorganization.
I learned about them and Lilathrough local Palestinian
solidarity organizing, like thatI do.
I got connected to theArizona-Palestinian Solidarity
(01:31):
Alliance, APSA, in Arizona thatis um Palestinian-led and also
has a lot of connections andrelationships with people in
Palestine, obviously.
And Humans to Be is one of theorganizations that has a
relationship, kind of likeco-posting and et cetera.
(01:51):
When donating to these types oforganizations, you usually have
to go through like GoFundMe orother types of organizations.
There's a lot of, it's verydifficult to actually get funds
into Gaza.
And the the ideal situation inthis situation is getting money
into the hands of people thereso they can use that money with
(02:12):
the resources that are there.
And also it just like puts moremoney in the economy.
And it's actually worthwhile tolook into this more.
And so Lyla and I have beentrying to coordinate some sort
of interview.
We've been, well, we we juststarted out with a personal
conversation, right?
Like, um, and there are so manypeople who have personal
relationships with people inGaza.
(02:33):
I know like several doctors whohave been there.
Um, I have other relationshipswith um like a I'm a co-founder
of an organization called AnimalHealthcare Workers Against
Genocide.
Um, we have some of our membersare in direct, we are in direct
contact with veterinary studentsand veterinarians there.
(02:55):
Can learn more about it by goingto our website and just trying
to like help people survive.
And internet connectivity is achallenge, a challenge.
And also in some of thesesources, like uh some of the
journalists that were targetedrecently that were um hit by a
missile during live TV, likethose locations that was
(03:15):
separate from the people thatwere bombed in the hospital, or
is that the same?
I think it's the same, exactlythe same, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
Because there is a for the for the people who are
listening, there's a video ofthat where not only were they
bombed, but then the people whowent in afterwards to help they
were bombed on top of that, andthat was live.
Yeah, and they can say, I don'tknow how they can justify this
as self-defense.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
I mean, it's it's well, they were like, it's a
surveillance camera.
It turns out it was actually ajournalist camera that was being
protected, so it was a placewhere journalists would go to
both record the landscapebecause you're in a taller
building, right?
So you'd get another view, andalso a location where the signal
is strong enough for them to getvideo and content out.
(03:58):
So it was part of the interviewand discussion with Lila had is
that we were coordinating backand forth for weeks, trying to
trying to actually coordinateasynchronous time, which is so
like people don't understand howhow difficult that is.
Like she was basically sittingon the back of a car for 30
minutes to get to the gardenwhere we were able to have the
(04:21):
conversation.
In addition to that, so like shealso had other interviews,
right?
Because she's trying to likewe're trying to spread
information.
So, number one, like follow her.
My handle is at the AutisticVeterinarian, and you know,
through that you can see I postfrequently, I repost the things
that she what platform is thison, just so people can that was
(04:44):
on Instagram.
SPEAKER_00 (04:45):
Oh, it's on Instagram, okay.
It's it's so important forpeople to who are listening to
connect to the humanity of this.
So you brought up how difficultit is.
So for us, in in an idealcircumstance, it would be
difficult because of the time,the time difference, right?
So right there, that would be adifference.
But then you have a person whois worrying about being attacked
and killed every second, alsothen trying to find a time to
(05:09):
like reach out to the world.
I mean, it's that's and she's inher 20s.
Like, I can't, for people whoare listening, think back to
what you were doing in your 20s.
I can't even wrap my brainaround that because what I was
doing in my 20s is like partyingand having fun and going to
college, right?
Not having to worry aboutgetting shot every five seconds.
SPEAKER_01 (05:27):
I mean, she's trying to find food for her children.
It's horrifying.
In the midst of this, right?
She's trying to do all of thesethings and still finding time.
And you'll you'll hear this fromanyone, anyone who has a direct
contact in Gaza.
They are there are times whereshe expressed concern for me and
(05:48):
like, how am I doing?
And you'll hear other people belike, be like, this is it's not
a shock because I have otherpeople in my life who are
Muslim.
And also like, I come from afamily of refugees, right?
Like, you know, you know, youcare about each other, you just
care about each other.
It doesn't matter if I am in thedepths of the absolute worst
(06:12):
things in my life.
I care about other human beings.
It doesn't stop them.
So, anyway, it's like, and justyou know, over the months that
we've been having conversations,and I've been trying to figure
out how to get information ofhow to get her out.
And then I'm havingconversations with other doctors
in my life where we're trying tofigure out how to get things
(06:33):
trying to figure out how to getthings in.
And there's like a, you know,from March, there was like a uh
over six month complete blockadeon like medical equipment, which
is even restricted before then,right?
And I'm trying to have this,there's so many things to talk
about, and like we don't evenknow if we're gonna have enough
time to talk about them.
(06:54):
And in addition to that, tryingto coordinate our schedules, and
I was it was like four in themaybe three thirty in the
morning for me, which is why insome ways we did this recording,
and I was just like, I felt likemy mouth was full of marbles,
and it wasn't it wasn't the theyweren't the questions that I
necessarily would have wanted toask, but we we were in this
(07:15):
situation where all of a suddenwe didn't have the time because
of of that.
So I said, okay, we're going toexpand this by making sure that
Matt and I can have like contextand a conversation to introduce
the conversation because it isnot when we talked, there was
this small window of time wherethe occupation let in a small
(07:38):
amount of food after like monthsand months and months of
completely like nothingavailable.
And then the the GHF, which isan absolute flipping war crime,
right, of people who going to toto be shot at the squid games to
(07:58):
try and get like a meager amountof food, of how you know, the a
veterinarian that we work withthat's working with Sula Animal
Uh Rescue, which is one of therescue, what the is the only
rescue in Gaza that has beentrying to like desperately get
food and medical supplies in foranimals there, because that's
(08:22):
happening too.
And like there's just so much totalk about.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Yeah.
You know what?
I wonder, we don't have toexplore this now, but it would
be something to think about downin the future.
You brought up Squid Games, andI was thinking about whether or
not Squid Games and like the Mr.
Beast and all that stuff,because if that's to normalize
the stuff, because you know, thepeople enjoying that show,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:42):
They think it's I had to stop watching it it could
be that they go they gotinspiration from it, and it's
possibly possibly, or it couldbe sensitive.
But like Elon Musk, some ofthese people, the fact that like
it's called Palantir, thesurveillance situation is called
Palantir.
That's a Lord of the Ringsreference.
We can absolutely talk about howculture and art and other things
(09:06):
influence and inspire, and likethese people are like living
people are like in Tel Avivwatching like media that is
available online, and that'sthey're like inspired by what
they watch.
Of course, they're lookingaround for things that they can
utilize in social engineering,propaganda, all of these things.
(09:27):
Literally, their mindset, theytook strategies from like this
is like reflective of strategiesthat the United States used on
the indigenous population.
We see this they are using likeGaza is a concentration camp.
Absolutely on a large scale.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
And we can we'll explore that.
I'm gonna put that on the listof things to talk about.
We'll explore that later.
But with the with the interview,I also want to point out that I
think I don't know if this iswhat happened with you, Erica,
but when you were saying likeyour mouth was full of marbles
and you you were kind of pressedfor time.
I find sometimes because whatthey are going through is such
an atrocity, and the lack offood being allowed in, I think
(10:08):
it's important to point out thatit's also baby formula and
medical supplies.
Impact formula.
Who in their right mind preventsbaby formula?
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
It's a deliberate strategy of genocide, it's an
absolute genocide.
SPEAKER_00 (10:25):
They've openly admitted that.
SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
I mean, there's to kill the children, it's a
warfare on children.
They they had an IVF facilitythat they bombed because when
you continuously contaminate thesoil with war pollution, right?
(10:48):
What do you think the populationis exposed to?
Of course, it's going to changethe reproductive capacity of the
population, and then you killthe babies.
SPEAKER_00 (10:59):
They also have the largest amount of children
amputees in the world, yes, andthen they bombed the prosthetic
factory.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
They bombed the prosthetic factory, in addition
to that.
Um, Dr.
Abu Safia, who has beenimprisoned, um he's a pediatric
surgeon.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01 (11:25):
The decimation of the healthcare system is by
design in order to kill off thepopulation.
That's a plan.
And so this is so me as like I'ma veterinarian because both of
my families experiencedstarvation.
So like here I am trying to havean interview with someone who
(11:46):
like you can you can hear it inthe first, like, she she because
I wasn't even knowing whethernot she was actually gonna be
able to show up.
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
I was, I I have to say, I was impressed with how
collected she was, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
That that to me was she she has to be.
SPEAKER_00 (12:01):
Of course.
I mean, it's it's a traumaticthing, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:04):
Well, it's not, you know, she has been she's grown
up, and one thing that shementions though, like when the
food comes in, she's like, thisis just a step there trying to
placate people for a momentbefore it gets really bad.
And what happened immediatelywithin two days of this is when
they said, We're going to invadeGaza City.
Yep.
I'm really grateful to have thisopportunity to like explain a
(12:27):
little bit more about thecontext because so veterinarians
have this ethic, right, that wetalk about.
It's been since like the the80s.
It actually comes out of it's ait's an American veterinarian
who spent 10 years in Lebanon,came up, was the father of a
theory of one health.
So, like the very and and thisone health concept is the the
(12:51):
idea that human, animal, andenvironmental health are
interconnected.
The place where my familyoriginates from, my on my
father's side, is is is now uhCzech Czechoslovakia.
And or the Czech Republic.
Is it the Czech Republic?
SPEAKER_00 (13:08):
I think it's the Czech Republic.
SPEAKER_01 (13:10):
It was a forest area, it's near the Black
Forest, right?
So uh a rural community um andit was bond out.
My sister got to go there oncewith my grandmother.
It's still ruins, and this wasruins and brought a brick from
(13:32):
the house, right?
So family, we didn't have a key,we have a brick.
When you grow up understandingwar and displacement, you don't
glorify the dropping of bombs.
SPEAKER_00 (13:42):
No, you don't.
SPEAKER_01 (13:42):
I had family in Dresden who only survived
because she went to the river,she didn't stay.
So over Dresden was firebombing,it's compared, it's an example
of the horrifying things thathumans do.
Dresden was a city of refugees,was not considered a military
target, and it was firebombed.
And in a few days, 230,000people were burned to death, and
(14:07):
they dropped papers on apopulation, which is exactly
what they did in Gaza.
SPEAKER_00 (14:13):
It's what they do everywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
Yes.
And so when, and that was thefirst time it happened.
So that is those are the thingsthat I grew up with, and so it
was very simple for me torecognize I don't turn away from
war because it affects us all.
Going to Austria and walkingaround parts of Austria and
(14:37):
being like, oh, like this iswhat it would have looked like
in parts of Germany that werecompletely destroyed.
So, like, you I think thatthere's this concept of what
does it mean to destroy abuilding?
And I had a wonderfulconversation with someone that
I'm not going to name.
Well, no, I think I could talkabout this.
Dr.
Temple Grandin.
So and the one thing that shewas able to like, we we talked a
(14:59):
bit because some uh colleaguesand I gave an anti-war talk at
the AVMA, which was veryinteresting situation.
We had to really thread theneedle a lot.
And uh we talked about thedestruction of buildings, and so
like I don't I don't thinkpeople understand the degree of
destruction and how much thatcompromises us all, because the
(15:19):
amount of pollution and carbonemissions that have been put
into the war machine are notcalculated.
The military does not have totalk about its carbon emissions
and how and there's like theamount like this will this could
the type of like endless warcould very well result in the
(15:46):
human species and many otherspecies on this planet not being
able to live all because likethese these men who are
fantasizing about going tospace, which is not possible
because there are as a stem cellbiologist and someone who has a
(16:08):
background in developmentalbiology, life made in space does
not work.
The embryos from mice that theywere made in space have so much
epigenetic damage, it cannotcreate another viable living
(16:31):
being that can then reproduce.
SPEAKER_00 (16:35):
That's fascinating.
I didn't know that.
Erica, there were two things Iwanted to say.
So one is when you were sayingthat people don't understand, I
actually think people don't wantto understand.
If I had a dime for every singleperson I've heard that said, I
just can't deal with that stuffand it doesn't affect my life,
so I'm going to ignore it.
It it's a super frustratingbecause they are choosing
(16:56):
ignorance and they are choosinggenocide.
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Well, I'm thinking about Amy, right?
The conversation that we justhad with Amy.
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
Yeah.
And the other thing I want tosay before I forget, too, is
that when you were talking aboutit's men, I mean, let's not
forget uh there, I I I it islargely men, but there was a
very famous uh singer recently,female, who decided to use her
status to take a trip to space.
SPEAKER_01 (17:22):
Yeah.
Right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Yeah, so and and these are the things that I've
done.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
I remember the thing, yes, that was that was
that was that was um she got theresponse.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (17:32):
And these these are the people that I mean, these
are these are also there's areason why they take celebrities
and singers and people withinfluence and send them over to
Israel because it's thepropaganda machine.
I mean, think about thecelebrities who signed missiles
with their autograph.
Like some of them I I used tolike.
I've unfollowed every single oneof them.
I think they're garbage, they'repropaganda, they're propaganda.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
Anyone, anyone who signs a weapon of war who says,
all right, not only because eachof those missiles, think about
how much they cost.
They are how much those dollarbills, so someone wants to sign
(18:16):
something that represents thetaking, the stealing of how many
millions of dollars that couldhave been gone into education,
into healthcare, andinfrastructure, into like so
many things for the people.
SPEAKER_00 (18:35):
And then that is also using slaughter people.
SPEAKER_01 (18:38):
Assign that represent to then not only
slaughter people but destroy thesoil to destroy the land.
Do you think there are papersabout the soil productivity in
Afghanistan and nourishmentbeing down?
There's also papers on howincrease in birth defects.
(18:59):
This is the kind of stuff thatlives in my head because I am
trained in multiple areas thatallow me to have some
perspective as well as myupbringing, the fact that I'm on
DHD.
So I just like can't.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
That's why we make a good team because your strength
is that part, my strength is themental health part of it, and
how it like impacts people likeon an individual level and as a
societal level.
And I think just because onlybecause we are doing a mini
episode and we still have toattach the Lila part to it.
Layla?
SPEAKER_01 (19:28):
Lila, Lila.
SPEAKER_00 (19:30):
I want to draw the dot the connected dots for
people.
You had said this, Erica, but Iwant to make it clear to
everybody that after the foodwas brought in, they were then
told they had to evacuate, andthen the the food and the area
they were keeping in it wasbombed.
And that was within like a48-hour period.
So these people who are beingstarved to death, because it's
(19:52):
not it's not that they'restarving, they're being starved.
I think that the the uhsemantics are very important
there, right?
Like it's a it's a war.
SPEAKER_01 (20:01):
It's a deliberate, it's a deliberate, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
And we the other thing I want to point out too,
to add to how horrific this is.
So if you're listening to thisand you're still on the fence or
you're still thinking thatIsrael isn't a genocidal
apartheid country, I mean, thisis the stuff that you can look
up.
This is all public information.
I mean, you may, Google maycensor it, but if you go look in
other places, you might be ableto find it.
They they had a whole flotilla,boats going to bring Gaza food,
(20:27):
the people in Gaza.
They bombed one of them.
So what kind what country canget away with preventing formula
from getting to kids, carpetbombing kids, carpet bombing
healthcare professionals,destroying and eliminating all
journalists that can report onit, and then bombing a flotilla,
(20:47):
which would be the equivalent ofbombing the Peace Corps.
And they're getting away with itwith our tax dollars.
So if you're listening to thisand you're still on the fence,
you shouldn't be, number one.
But two, I hope you are beingactive and calling like your
senators, your you know,congressional people and saying,
like, this has got to stop, likeour money can no longer support
this stuff.
Because as Erica said earlier,our infrastructure is falling
(21:10):
apart, our healthcare is fallingapart, nobody can even afford to
get healthcare anymore.
We have food insecurity in thiscountry, which we shouldn't
have.
Amount of people who are livingin homelessness is rising.
And if you think this is aRepublican issue, you're dead
wrong because it is a both sidesissue.
There is one party in thiscountry.
And if again, if you doubt that,look up who pays your
representatives, because most ofthem are paid by AIPEC.
(21:32):
And most of them are going tocontinue to defend Israel.
And they've been prettyblatantly clear about this.
And the only way that is evergoing to change is if we start
humanizing the people thatthey're trying to dehumanize and
really come together and say,like, this is not in anybody's
best interest.
I mean, Eric has talked aboutthe damage it's doing to the the
ecology in the world.
The the the easiest way to getrid of people is to dehumanize
(21:55):
them.
And that's what they arecontinuing to do to people in
Gaza.
But the facts speak for itself.
How many countries has how manycountries has Palestine bombed?
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
I would say zero.
Zero, right?
SPEAKER_00 (22:07):
Zero.
And how many countries?
SPEAKER_01 (22:08):
For people who are like, oh, it includes like
bombing in Israel, like, guesswhat?
That land is Palestine.
SPEAKER_00 (22:14):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01 (22:15):
Or you could say one, zero to one.
Right.
You could have an argument aboutit.
SPEAKER_00 (22:18):
But look at how many countries Israel has bombed with
impunity.
I mean, they've killed Americancitizens, they've bombed
American ships.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
They bombed Qatar this morning.
SPEAKER_00 (22:27):
They bomb whatever the hell they want.
And I do want to give kudos toSpain because Spain is the first
European country now to say,that's it, we're we're doing an
arms embargo, they're puttingsanctions on them, they're not
allowing them to fly throughtheir airspace anymore.
And kudos to Ireland as well,you know, and Mexico and some of
the other.
SPEAKER_01 (22:47):
You have to understand, like, listeners,
like, I I apologize, I apologizefor the mouthful of marbles that
I had when I was speaking withLila specifically.
And so I do want to do a coupleof things um before we close
because like you have power asan individual.
Matt and I have been talkingabout this, right?
(23:07):
We are talking in our spaces ofwork, talk to people, build your
confidence.
If you're not confident yet, getconnected to people who can help
you build your confidence.
Getting connected, make makecommunity connections.
There's Palestinian solidarity,like um advocacy work happening
everywhere, right?
And then also just like listento Palestinians.
SPEAKER_00 (23:32):
I would I would add to that too.
I mean, just because of how manyI follow on TikTok now, when I
see live videos of people beingbombed, I feel like I know the
people who are there.
I see them running in thebackground.
And I'm like, I know that one, Iknow that one, I know that one,
right?
These are people that I'm fullyinvested in.
And if listen, if I had amillion dollars, I'd be spending
it to get them out of there.
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
Yeah, yeah.
Lila sent me some of her poetry.
So I do I'm gonna include that.
Oh, can we include that?
Yes.
I'm gonna um include that.
So I'm gonna do a little bit ofa reading.
Um, and I encourage you, I'mgonna um humans to be, you know,
and a message from humans to beand Lila today is eyes on the
flotilla eyes on the flotilla.
Right.
So when I do want to put thisone last thing out there.
(24:20):
Um when international waters orother waters are used for attack
and for impunity, right?
We have one example veryrecently um of uh our government
shooting with a missile, whichis not the way that the US does
(24:41):
interdictions, because we havethings like the Coast Guard that
don't cost that same amount asshooting a missile to blow up a
boat with 11 people on it, whichpeople are like, were they even
like carrying drugs?
SPEAKER_00 (24:57):
It's 11 people we'll never know because all the
evidence is gone and that'sintentional.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
And it's possible that maybe there were two bad
actors on there and nineinnocent human traffickers,
people who are bringing humantrafficked to the city.
SPEAKER_00 (25:10):
Well, and last I checked, um it's possible drugs
selling drugs wasn't a uhpunishable by the death penalty.
Right.
At last I checked.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
Yes, perfect, thank you.
Um yeah, so uh, you know, theone of the um boats on the
flotilla was uh attacked, bombedby a drone in international
waters in Tunisian waters.
Um, and it's the second time,right?
(25:39):
So when things are done withimpunity, guess how many other
militaries are gonna be like,okay, cool, I guess we can just
like attack whoever we want ininternational waters.
Uh it makes us all less safe.
SPEAKER_00 (25:54):
It does.
It does.
The reporter that was shot on onTV.
If people do not think what'shappening there is not going to
happen here, you're you're in adelusional fantasy world because
it's already happening and it'shappened in this country many
times where they've gotten awaywith it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:08):
Yeah, and so also part for this morning, right?
Now we have the loss of bond.
So now um immigrants no longerare going to have the
opportunity to be in front of ajudge to potentially go on bond,
so they're going to be on inlike just get scooped up and
detained for an indeterminateamount of time that will be
(26:31):
basically dictated by thecurrent administration and ICE.
We know how that's gonna go,right?
And in additionally, the SupremeCourt just lifted the ban that
was the this day that was put onhold for the use of racial
profiling um in um scooping uppeople that was in LA that they
(26:54):
were practicing.
So um just the and this is whythis mini episode is really
important because all of thisare connected.
Because guess who gets scoopedup and put into prisons for
without being able, without dueprocess, without being able to
be seen in front of a judge uhfor indeterminate arbitrary
amounts of time?
(27:14):
Palestinians, right?
This is an Israeli um policingtechnique, and it is here and it
is now being utilized onimmigrant community.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
So yeah, uh so unfortunately on that note
poetry.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
All right, I'm gonna I'm going to read uh one, um,
and there are more, but so thiswas last year um that she wrote
this, I believe.
Um 22 years.
22 years, I lived through wars,more than one escalation and
desige.
In the 2008 war, I was six yearsold.
(27:53):
In the 2012 war, I was 10 yearsold.
In the 2014 war, I was 12 yearsold.
In the 2021 escalation, I was 19years old.
In the 2022 escalation, I was 20years old.
In the 2023 war, I became 21years old.
(28:14):
The last this one doesn't have atitle.
Every minute that passes, welive in a state of anxiety and
anticipation, afraid of theambiguity of our fate.
Will dogs eat our corpses?
How will the end be?
Will I die with dignity?
Or will I turn into scatteredremains?
(28:34):
Will I find someone to bury me?
Or will I remain imprisonedbetween the walls of fear and
pain, without a body, a lostsoul searching for hope in the
darkness of this world?
Will I be disfigured in thedepths of wars, turning into a
memory told in the corners ofoblivion?
(28:55):
Or will I be a symbol of painand suffering carrying my story
for future generations?
Countless questions resonate inmy chest.
Will we die under the rebel?
Or will we be deprived of themartyrdom we dream of?
Will the winds carry me to aplace that reminds me of my
homeland?
(29:16):
Or will I remain stuck betweendream and reality, between life
and death in this never-endingbattle?
SPEAKER_00 (29:23):
Well, those were very powerful, Erica.
Thank you for reading it.
If you speak to her again, canyou also thank her?
Tell her I said thank you forthe recording, and that she has
my support and the support ofthe listeners.
And if there's anything that wecan do, or if there's other
people that want to come on, Iwill, you know, you know we will
give them the platform.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Yeah, I would say donate to direct action mutual
aid campaigns.
Can donate directly to uh Lilaand you can follow her.
Um, if you go to you can findher on um humans to be and also
uh Lila as At Alshana, we willthose handles into the show
(30:03):
notes.
And also, um, there are otherorganizations, um, but
definitely like Gaza SoupKitchen and those kind of
things.
Like you can figure out whetheror not you want to go for the
larger, like, you know,organizations that um go through
more formalized channels, youknow, obviously like doctors
without borders, like there youcan contribute specifically to
(30:26):
medical missions.
Just know that that is somethingthat is important.
You can support AWAG and justsupport support them in any way
you can, any way as possible.
But most importantly, is doingeverything that you can to hold
our governance and our leaderswho are responsible for this
(30:48):
absolute carnage accountable.
Build people power.
SPEAKER_00 (30:52):
And I think that's important too for people if you
struggle financially and youfeel like you can't you can't
donate for whatever reason.
What Erica is saying is so trueis that talk to other people.
If you tell one person what'sgoing on, that one person can
tell like two other people.
I mean, that can be morepowerful than the finances.
It's use your voice because yourvoice matters.
(31:13):
And when we start believing ourvoice doesn't matter, that's
when we've lost.
So keep keep it up.
Um, Erica, thank you for allthat.
If you can send me the stuff,I'll put it in the show notes.
Um, that would be great.
But unfortunately, I do have togo because I have somebody in a
couple minutes.
But um, thank you, everybody,and thank you, Erica.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another
episode of the United States atPTSD.
Today we are going to do a miniepisode that we're going to
release in between a coupleepisodes.
So this will be like a bonusepisode.
Erica, you had the privilege ofinterviewing somebody from Gaza
directly.
Yeah.
So we're I'm going to attachthat interview.
I think it was about 27-ishminutes or 26 minutes about.
SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
I'm not so sure.
If it varies a little bit, Ifelt like it was shorter than
that.
It was shorter than that.
And I'll and yeah, so this isthis is an interview with Lila.
She is she runs and is acoordinator for a mutual aid
like organization in Gaza, whichis something that a lot of Gaza
(00:45):
community has done, where likethings like Gaza Soup Kitchen,
right?
There are a whole bunch ofdifferent organizations that
have engaged in this process ofmutual aid of answering a local
need.
And Lila is an example of that.
She is in her 20s, she's veryyoung.
And what she does is she workswith children and orphans for
(01:06):
mental health to try and bringsome joy into their lives in the
midst of experiencing agenocide.
So Humans to Be is a wonderfulorganization.
I learned about them and Lilathrough local Palestinian
solidarity organizing, like thatI do.
I got connected to theArizona-Palestinian Solidarity
(01:31):
Alliance, APSA, in Arizona thatis um Palestinian-led and also
has a lot of connections andrelationships with people in
Palestine, obviously.
And Humans to Be is one of theorganizations that has a
relationship, kind of likeco-posting and et cetera.
(01:51):
When donating to these types oforganizations, you usually have
to go through like GoFundMe orother types of organizations.
There's a lot of, it's verydifficult to actually get funds
into Gaza.
And the the ideal situation inthis situation is getting money
into the hands of people thereso they can use that money with
(02:12):
the resources that are there.
And also it just like puts moremoney in the economy.
And it's actually worthwhile tolook into this more.
And so Lyla and I have beentrying to coordinate some sort
of interview.
We've been, well, we we juststarted out with a personal
conversation, right?
Like, um, and there are so manypeople who have personal
relationships with people inGaza.
(02:33):
I know like several doctors whohave been there.
Um, I have other relationshipswith um like a I'm a co-founder
of an organization called AnimalHealthcare Workers Against
Genocide.
Um, we have some of our membersare in direct, we are in direct
contact with veterinary studentsand veterinarians there.
(02:55):
Can learn more about it by goingto our website and just trying
to like help people survive.
And internet connectivity is achallenge, a challenge.
And also in some of thesesources, like uh some of the
journalists that were targetedrecently that were um hit by a
missile during live TV, likethose locations that was
(03:15):
separate from the people thatwere bombed in the hospital, or
is that the same?
I think it's the same, exactlythe same, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
Because there is a for the for the people who are
listening, there's a video ofthat where not only were they
bombed, but then the people whowent in afterwards to help they
were bombed on top of that, andthat was live.
Yeah, and they can say, I don'tknow how they can justify this
as self-defense.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
I mean, it's it's well, they were like, it's a
surveillance camera.
It turns out it was actually ajournalist camera that was being
protected, so it was a placewhere journalists would go to
both record the landscapebecause you're in a taller
building, right?
So you'd get another view, andalso a location where the signal
is strong enough for them to getvideo and content out.
(03:58):
So it was part of the interviewand discussion with Lila had is
that we were coordinating backand forth for weeks, trying to
trying to actually coordinateasynchronous time, which is so
like people don't understand howhow difficult that is.
Like she was basically sittingon the back of a car for 30
minutes to get to the gardenwhere we were able to have the
(04:21):
conversation.
In addition to that, so like shealso had other interviews,
right?
Because she's trying to likewe're trying to spread
information.
So, number one, like follow her.
My handle is at the AutisticVeterinarian, and you know,
through that you can see I postfrequently, I repost the things
that she what platform is thison, just so people can that was
(04:44):
on Instagram.
SPEAKER_00 (04:45):
Oh, it's on Instagram, okay.
It's it's so important forpeople to who are listening to
connect to the humanity of this.
So you brought up how difficultit is.
So for us, in in an idealcircumstance, it would be
difficult because of the time,the time difference, right?
So right there, that would be adifference.
But then you have a person whois worrying about being attacked
and killed every second, alsothen trying to find a time to
(05:09):
like reach out to the world.
I mean, it's that's and she's inher 20s.
Like, I can't, for people whoare listening, think back to
what you were doing in your 20s.
I can't even wrap my brainaround that because what I was
doing in my 20s is like partyingand having fun and going to
college, right?
Not having to worry aboutgetting shot every five seconds.
SPEAKER_01 (05:27):
I mean, she's trying to find food for her children.
It's horrifying.
In the midst of this, right?
She's trying to do all of thesethings and still finding time.
And you'll you'll hear this fromanyone, anyone who has a direct
contact in Gaza.
They are there are times whereshe expressed concern for me and
(05:48):
like, how am I doing?
And you'll hear other people belike, be like, this is it's not
a shock because I have otherpeople in my life who are
Muslim.
And also like, I come from afamily of refugees, right?
Like, you know, you know, youcare about each other, you just
care about each other.
It doesn't matter if I am in thedepths of the absolute worst
(06:12):
things in my life.
I care about other human beings.
It doesn't stop them.
So, anyway, it's like, and justyou know, over the months that
we've been having conversations,and I've been trying to figure
out how to get information ofhow to get her out.
And then I'm havingconversations with other doctors
in my life where we're trying tofigure out how to get things
(06:33):
trying to figure out how to getthings in.
And there's like a, you know,from March, there was like a uh
over six month complete blockadeon like medical equipment, which
is even restricted before then,right?
And I'm trying to have this,there's so many things to talk
about, and like we don't evenknow if we're gonna have enough
time to talk about them.
(06:54):
And in addition to that, tryingto coordinate our schedules, and
I was it was like four in themaybe three thirty in the
morning for me, which is why insome ways we did this recording,
and I was just like, I felt likemy mouth was full of marbles,
and it wasn't it wasn't the theyweren't the questions that I
necessarily would have wanted toask, but we we were in this
(07:15):
situation where all of a suddenwe didn't have the time because
of of that.
So I said, okay, we're going toexpand this by making sure that
Matt and I can have like contextand a conversation to introduce
the conversation because it isnot when we talked, there was
this small window of time wherethe occupation let in a small
(07:38):
amount of food after like monthsand months and months of
completely like nothingavailable.
And then the the GHF, which isan absolute flipping war crime,
right, of people who going to toto be shot at the squid games to
(07:58):
try and get like a meager amountof food, of how you know, the a
veterinarian that we work withthat's working with Sula Animal
Uh Rescue, which is one of therescue, what the is the only
rescue in Gaza that has beentrying to like desperately get
food and medical supplies in foranimals there, because that's
(08:22):
happening too.
And like there's just so much totalk about.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Yeah.
You know what?
I wonder, we don't have toexplore this now, but it would
be something to think about downin the future.
You brought up Squid Games, andI was thinking about whether or
not Squid Games and like the Mr.
Beast and all that stuff,because if that's to normalize
the stuff, because you know, thepeople enjoying that show,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:42):
They think it's I had to stop watching it it could
be that they go they gotinspiration from it, and it's
possibly possibly, or it couldbe sensitive.
But like Elon Musk, some ofthese people, the fact that like
it's called Palantir, thesurveillance situation is called
Palantir.
That's a Lord of the Ringsreference.
We can absolutely talk about howculture and art and other things
(09:06):
influence and inspire, and likethese people are like living
people are like in Tel Avivwatching like media that is
available online, and that'sthey're like inspired by what
they watch.
Of course, they're lookingaround for things that they can
utilize in social engineering,propaganda, all of these things.
(09:27):
Literally, their mindset, theytook strategies from like this
is like reflective of strategiesthat the United States used on
the indigenous population.
We see this they are using likeGaza is a concentration camp.
Absolutely on a large scale.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
And we can we'll explore that.
I'm gonna put that on the listof things to talk about.
We'll explore that later.
But with the with the interview,I also want to point out that I
think I don't know if this iswhat happened with you, Erica,
but when you were saying likeyour mouth was full of marbles
and you you were kind of pressedfor time.
I find sometimes because whatthey are going through is such
an atrocity, and the lack offood being allowed in, I think
(10:08):
it's important to point out thatit's also baby formula and
medical supplies.
Impact formula.
Who in their right mind preventsbaby formula?
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
It's a deliberate strategy of genocide, it's an
absolute genocide.
SPEAKER_00 (10:25):
They've openly admitted that.
SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
I mean, there's to kill the children, it's a
warfare on children.
They they had an IVF facilitythat they bombed because when
you continuously contaminate thesoil with war pollution, right?
(10:48):
What do you think the populationis exposed to?
Of course, it's going to changethe reproductive capacity of the
population, and then you killthe babies.
SPEAKER_00 (10:59):
They also have the largest amount of children
amputees in the world, yes, andthen they bombed the prosthetic
factory.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
They bombed the prosthetic factory, in addition
to that.
Um, Dr.
Abu Safia, who has beenimprisoned, um he's a pediatric
surgeon.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01 (11:25):
The decimation of the healthcare system is by
design in order to kill off thepopulation.
That's a plan.
And so this is so me as like I'ma veterinarian because both of
my families experiencedstarvation.
So like here I am trying to havean interview with someone who
(11:46):
like you can you can hear it inthe first, like, she she because
I wasn't even knowing whethernot she was actually gonna be
able to show up.
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
I was, I I have to say, I was impressed with how
collected she was, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
That that to me was she she has to be.
SPEAKER_00 (12:01):
Of course.
I mean, it's it's a traumaticthing, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:04):
Well, it's not, you know, she has been she's grown
up, and one thing that shementions though, like when the
food comes in, she's like, thisis just a step there trying to
placate people for a momentbefore it gets really bad.
And what happened immediatelywithin two days of this is when
they said, We're going to invadeGaza City.
Yep.
I'm really grateful to have thisopportunity to like explain a
(12:27):
little bit more about thecontext because so veterinarians
have this ethic, right, that wetalk about.
It's been since like the the80s.
It actually comes out of it's ait's an American veterinarian
who spent 10 years in Lebanon,came up, was the father of a
theory of one health.
So, like the very and and thisone health concept is the the
(12:51):
idea that human, animal, andenvironmental health are
interconnected.
The place where my familyoriginates from, my on my
father's side, is is is now uhCzech Czechoslovakia.
And or the Czech Republic.
Is it the Czech Republic?
SPEAKER_00 (13:08):
I think it's the Czech Republic.
SPEAKER_01 (13:10):
It was a forest area, it's near the Black
Forest, right?
So uh a rural community um andit was bond out.
My sister got to go there oncewith my grandmother.
It's still ruins, and this wasruins and brought a brick from
(13:32):
the house, right?
So family, we didn't have a key,we have a brick.
When you grow up understandingwar and displacement, you don't
glorify the dropping of bombs.
SPEAKER_00 (13:42):
No, you don't.
SPEAKER_01 (13:42):
I had family in Dresden who only survived
because she went to the river,she didn't stay.
So over Dresden was firebombing,it's compared, it's an example
of the horrifying things thathumans do.
Dresden was a city of refugees,was not considered a military
target, and it was firebombed.
And in a few days, 230,000people were burned to death, and
(14:07):
they dropped papers on apopulation, which is exactly
what they did in Gaza.
SPEAKER_00 (14:13):
It's what they do everywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
Yes.
And so when, and that was thefirst time it happened.
So that is those are the thingsthat I grew up with, and so it
was very simple for me torecognize I don't turn away from
war because it affects us all.
Going to Austria and walkingaround parts of Austria and
(14:37):
being like, oh, like this iswhat it would have looked like
in parts of Germany that werecompletely destroyed.
So, like, you I think thatthere's this concept of what
does it mean to destroy abuilding?
And I had a wonderfulconversation with someone that
I'm not going to name.
Well, no, I think I could talkabout this.
Dr.
Temple Grandin.
So and the one thing that shewas able to like, we we talked a
(14:59):
bit because some uh colleaguesand I gave an anti-war talk at
the AVMA, which was veryinteresting situation.
We had to really thread theneedle a lot.
And uh we talked about thedestruction of buildings, and so
like I don't I don't thinkpeople understand the degree of
destruction and how much thatcompromises us all, because the
(15:19):
amount of pollution and carbonemissions that have been put
into the war machine are notcalculated.
The military does not have totalk about its carbon emissions
and how and there's like theamount like this will this could
the type of like endless warcould very well result in the
(15:46):
human species and many otherspecies on this planet not being
able to live all because likethese these men who are
fantasizing about going tospace, which is not possible
because there are as a stem cellbiologist and someone who has a
(16:08):
background in developmentalbiology, life made in space does
not work.
The embryos from mice that theywere made in space have so much
epigenetic damage, it cannotcreate another viable living
(16:31):
being that can then reproduce.
SPEAKER_00 (16:35):
That's fascinating.
I didn't know that.
Erica, there were two things Iwanted to say.
So one is when you were sayingthat people don't understand, I
actually think people don't wantto understand.
If I had a dime for every singleperson I've heard that said, I
just can't deal with that stuffand it doesn't affect my life,
so I'm going to ignore it.
It it's a super frustratingbecause they are choosing
(16:56):
ignorance and they are choosinggenocide.
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Well, I'm thinking about Amy, right?
The conversation that we justhad with Amy.
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
Yeah.
And the other thing I want tosay before I forget, too, is
that when you were talking aboutit's men, I mean, let's not
forget uh there, I I I it islargely men, but there was a
very famous uh singer recently,female, who decided to use her
status to take a trip to space.
SPEAKER_01 (17:22):
Yeah.
Right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Yeah, so and and these are the things that I've
done.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
I remember the thing, yes, that was that was
that was that was um she got theresponse.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (17:32):
And these these are the people that I mean, these
are these are also there's areason why they take celebrities
and singers and people withinfluence and send them over to
Israel because it's thepropaganda machine.
I mean, think about thecelebrities who signed missiles
with their autograph.
Like some of them I I used tolike.
I've unfollowed every single oneof them.
I think they're garbage, they'repropaganda, they're propaganda.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
Anyone, anyone who signs a weapon of war who says,
all right, not only because eachof those missiles, think about
how much they cost.
They are how much those dollarbills, so someone wants to sign
(18:16):
something that represents thetaking, the stealing of how many
millions of dollars that couldhave been gone into education,
into healthcare, andinfrastructure, into like so
many things for the people.
SPEAKER_00 (18:35):
And then that is also using slaughter people.
SPEAKER_01 (18:38):
Assign that represent to then not only
slaughter people but destroy thesoil to destroy the land.
Do you think there are papersabout the soil productivity in
Afghanistan and nourishmentbeing down?
There's also papers on howincrease in birth defects.
(18:59):
This is the kind of stuff thatlives in my head because I am
trained in multiple areas thatallow me to have some
perspective as well as myupbringing, the fact that I'm on
DHD.
So I just like can't.
SPEAKER_00 (19:13):
That's why we make a good team because your strength
is that part, my strength is themental health part of it, and
how it like impacts people likeon an individual level and as a
societal level.
And I think just because onlybecause we are doing a mini
episode and we still have toattach the Lila part to it.
Layla?
SPEAKER_01 (19:28):
Lila, Lila.
SPEAKER_00 (19:30):
I want to draw the dot the connected dots for
people.
You had said this, Erica, but Iwant to make it clear to
everybody that after the foodwas brought in, they were then
told they had to evacuate, andthen the the food and the area
they were keeping in it wasbombed.
And that was within like a48-hour period.
So these people who are beingstarved to death, because it's
(19:52):
not it's not that they'restarving, they're being starved.
I think that the the uhsemantics are very important
there, right?
Like it's a it's a war.
SPEAKER_01 (20:01):
It's a deliberate, it's a deliberate, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
And we the other thing I want to point out too,
to add to how horrific this is.
So if you're listening to thisand you're still on the fence or
you're still thinking thatIsrael isn't a genocidal
apartheid country, I mean, thisis the stuff that you can look
up.
This is all public information.
I mean, you may, Google maycensor it, but if you go look in
other places, you might be ableto find it.
They they had a whole flotilla,boats going to bring Gaza food,
(20:27):
the people in Gaza.
They bombed one of them.
So what kind what country canget away with preventing formula
from getting to kids, carpetbombing kids, carpet bombing
healthcare professionals,destroying and eliminating all
journalists that can report onit, and then bombing a flotilla,
(20:47):
which would be the equivalent ofbombing the Peace Corps.
And they're getting away with itwith our tax dollars.
So if you're listening to thisand you're still on the fence,
you shouldn't be, number one.
But two, I hope you are beingactive and calling like your
senators, your you know,congressional people and saying,
like, this has got to stop, likeour money can no longer support
this stuff.
Because as Erica said earlier,our infrastructure is falling
(21:10):
apart, our healthcare is fallingapart, nobody can even afford to
get healthcare anymore.
We have food insecurity in thiscountry, which we shouldn't
have.
Amount of people who are livingin homelessness is rising.
And if you think this is aRepublican issue, you're dead
wrong because it is a both sidesissue.
There is one party in thiscountry.
And if again, if you doubt that,look up who pays your
representatives, because most ofthem are paid by AIPEC.
(21:32):
And most of them are going tocontinue to defend Israel.
And they've been prettyblatantly clear about this.
And the only way that is evergoing to change is if we start
humanizing the people thatthey're trying to dehumanize and
really come together and say,like, this is not in anybody's
best interest.
I mean, Eric has talked aboutthe damage it's doing to the the
ecology in the world.
The the the easiest way to getrid of people is to dehumanize
(21:55):
them.
And that's what they arecontinuing to do to people in
Gaza.
But the facts speak for itself.
How many countries has how manycountries has Palestine bombed?
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
I would say zero.
Zero, right?
SPEAKER_00 (22:07):
Zero.
And how many countries?
SPEAKER_01 (22:08):
For people who are like, oh, it includes like
bombing in Israel, like, guesswhat?
That land is Palestine.
SPEAKER_00 (22:14):
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01 (22:15):
Or you could say one, zero to one.
Right.
You could have an argument aboutit.
SPEAKER_00 (22:18):
But look at how many countries Israel has bombed with
impunity.
I mean, they've killed Americancitizens, they've bombed
American ships.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
They bombed Qatar this morning.
SPEAKER_00 (22:27):
They bomb whatever the hell they want.
And I do want to give kudos toSpain because Spain is the first
European country now to say,that's it, we're we're doing an
arms embargo, they're puttingsanctions on them, they're not
allowing them to fly throughtheir airspace anymore.
And kudos to Ireland as well,you know, and Mexico and some of
the other.
SPEAKER_01 (22:47):
You have to understand, like, listeners,
like, I I apologize, I apologizefor the mouthful of marbles that
I had when I was speaking withLila specifically.
And so I do want to do a coupleof things um before we close
because like you have power asan individual.
Matt and I have been talkingabout this, right?
(23:07):
We are talking in our spaces ofwork, talk to people, build your
confidence.
If you're not confident yet, getconnected to people who can help
you build your confidence.
Getting connected, make makecommunity connections.
There's Palestinian solidarity,like um advocacy work happening
everywhere, right?
And then also just like listento Palestinians.
SPEAKER_00 (23:32):
I would I would add to that too.
I mean, just because of how manyI follow on TikTok now, when I
see live videos of people beingbombed, I feel like I know the
people who are there.
I see them running in thebackground.
And I'm like, I know that one, Iknow that one, I know that one,
right?
These are people that I'm fullyinvested in.
And if listen, if I had amillion dollars, I'd be spending
it to get them out of there.
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
Yeah, yeah.
Lila sent me some of her poetry.
So I do I'm gonna include that.
Oh, can we include that?
Yes.
I'm gonna um include that.
So I'm gonna do a little bit ofa reading.
Um, and I encourage you, I'mgonna um humans to be, you know,
and a message from humans to beand Lila today is eyes on the
flotilla eyes on the flotilla.
Right.
So when I do want to put thisone last thing out there.
(24:20):
Um when international waters orother waters are used for attack
and for impunity, right?
We have one example veryrecently um of uh our government
shooting with a missile, whichis not the way that the US does
(24:41):
interdictions, because we havethings like the Coast Guard that
don't cost that same amount asshooting a missile to blow up a
boat with 11 people on it, whichpeople are like, were they even
like carrying drugs?
SPEAKER_00 (24:57):
It's 11 people we'll never know because all the
evidence is gone and that'sintentional.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
And it's possible that maybe there were two bad
actors on there and nineinnocent human traffickers,
people who are bringing humantrafficked to the city.
SPEAKER_00 (25:10):
Well, and last I checked, um it's possible drugs
selling drugs wasn't a uhpunishable by the death penalty.
Right.
At last I checked.
SPEAKER_01 (25:18):
Yes, perfect, thank you.
Um yeah, so uh, you know, theone of the um boats on the
flotilla was uh attacked, bombedby a drone in international
waters in Tunisian waters.
Um, and it's the second time,right?
(25:39):
So when things are done withimpunity, guess how many other
militaries are gonna be like,okay, cool, I guess we can just
like attack whoever we want ininternational waters.
Uh it makes us all less safe.
SPEAKER_00 (25:54):
It does.
It does.
The reporter that was shot on onTV.
If people do not think what'shappening there is not going to
happen here, you're you're in adelusional fantasy world because
it's already happening and it'shappened in this country many
times where they've gotten awaywith it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:08):
Yeah, and so also part for this morning, right?
Now we have the loss of bond.
So now um immigrants no longerare going to have the
opportunity to be in front of ajudge to potentially go on bond,
so they're going to be on inlike just get scooped up and
detained for an indeterminateamount of time that will be
(26:31):
basically dictated by thecurrent administration and ICE.
We know how that's gonna go,right?
And in additionally, the SupremeCourt just lifted the ban that
was the this day that was put onhold for the use of racial
profiling um in um scooping uppeople that was in LA that they
(26:54):
were practicing.
So um just the and this is whythis mini episode is really
important because all of thisare connected.
Because guess who gets scoopedup and put into prisons for
without being able, without dueprocess, without being able to
be seen in front of a judge uhfor indeterminate arbitrary
amounts of time?
(27:14):
Palestinians, right?
This is an Israeli um policingtechnique, and it is here and it
is now being utilized onimmigrant community.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
So yeah, uh so unfortunately on that note
poetry.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
All right, I'm gonna I'm going to read uh one, um,
and there are more, but so thiswas last year um that she wrote
this, I believe.
Um 22 years.
22 years, I lived through wars,more than one escalation and
desige.
In the 2008 war, I was six yearsold.
(27:53):
In the 2012 war, I was 10 yearsold.
In the 2014 war, I was 12 yearsold.
In the 2021 escalation, I was 19years old.
In the 2022 escalation, I was 20years old.
In the 2023 war, I became 21years old.
(28:14):
The last this one doesn't have atitle.
Every minute that passes, welive in a state of anxiety and
anticipation, afraid of theambiguity of our fate.
Will dogs eat our corpses?
How will the end be?
Will I die with dignity?
Or will I turn into scatteredremains?
(28:34):
Will I find someone to bury me?
Or will I remain imprisonedbetween the walls of fear and
pain, without a body, a lostsoul searching for hope in the
darkness of this world?
Will I be disfigured in thedepths of wars, turning into a
memory told in the corners ofoblivion?
(28:55):
Or will I be a symbol of painand suffering carrying my story
for future generations?
Countless questions resonate inmy chest.
Will we die under the rebel?
Or will we be deprived of themartyrdom we dream of?
Will the winds carry me to aplace that reminds me of my
homeland?
(29:16):
Or will I remain stuck betweendream and reality, between life
and death in this never-endingbattle?
SPEAKER_00 (29:23):
Well, those were very powerful, Erica.
Thank you for reading it.
If you speak to her again, canyou also thank her?
Tell her I said thank you forthe recording, and that she has
my support and the support ofthe listeners.
And if there's anything that wecan do, or if there's other
people that want to come on, Iwill, you know, you know we will
give them the platform.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Yeah, I would say donate to direct action mutual
aid campaigns.
Can donate directly to uh Lilaand you can follow her.
Um, if you go to you can findher on um humans to be and also
uh Lila as At Alshana, we willthose handles into the show
(30:03):
notes.
And also, um, there are otherorganizations, um, but
definitely like Gaza SoupKitchen and those kind of
things.
Like you can figure out whetheror not you want to go for the
larger, like, you know,organizations that um go through
more formalized channels, youknow, obviously like doctors
without borders, like there youcan contribute specifically to
(30:26):
medical missions.
Just know that that is somethingthat is important.
You can support AWAG and justsupport support them in any way
you can, any way as possible.
But most importantly, is doingeverything that you can to hold
our governance and our leaderswho are responsible for this
(30:48):
absolute carnage accountable.
Build people power.
SPEAKER_00 (30:52):
And I think that's important too for people if you
struggle financially and youfeel like you can't you can't
donate for whatever reason.
What Erica is saying is so trueis that talk to other people.
If you tell one person what'sgoing on, that one person can
tell like two other people.
I mean, that can be morepowerful than the finances.
It's use your voice because yourvoice matters.
(31:13):
And when we start believing ourvoice doesn't matter, that's
when we've lost.
So keep keep it up.
Um, Erica, thank you for allthat.
If you can send me the stuff,I'll put it in the show notes.
Um, that would be great.
But unfortunately, I do have togo because I have somebody in a
couple minutes.
But um, thank you, everybody,and thank you, Erica.
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