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By Dr Firyal Alshalabi
As the atrocities and crimes committed by the Zionist entity against Palestinians continue, so does the rage in the hearts of those who oppose it. For 14 months, not a single day has gone by without learning about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and now in the West Bank. Rage and anger grow toward those who are committing these atrocities and those who are helping them commit these crimes. Yet, we feel helpless. We cannot stop these crimes or rush to the aid of our brothers and sisters during their darkest hours in history.
Personally, the only way I’m able to channel my anger and assuage it is by boycotting products that benefit the Zionist entity and its army. Therefore, for the last 14 months, I have refused to buy or pay for any product that has any connection with that entity and its settlers in the occupied land of Palestine. I downloaded a free App called “No Thanks” and now use it to check the barcodes of products to make sure that my money is not helping kill Palestinians. The app provides researched information on why a product should be boycotted. The information is elaborate, even for the skeptics who would argue against it. Then, it’s up to you to decide whether to boycott or not.
What I learnt from this process is tremendous. For example, who would have known that making our lives easy and enjoyable by eating at certain cafes and restaurants was helping the Zionist army kill our brothers and sisters in Palestine? Who would have thought that shopping at certain stores and supermarkets or buying everyday products like certain foodstuffs and cosmetics was helping the economy of the Zionist entity flourish while destroying the infrastructure of Palestinian towns?
In the meantime, many questions arose from this investigation, to which I wish for answers. For example, how did it happen that most popular products and companies around the world are owned by people who support the occupation of Palestinian land? How did they infiltrate and become so popular? Why aren’t there comparable products owned by Arabs or others who would like to help the Palestinian cause and Palestinians live a dignified life? What does it take for some wealthy Arabs, concerned for the current disastrous situation in Palestine, to start producing comparable products to replace those boycotted?
Some family members and friends tell me that by boycotting many of my favorite items, I’m making life difficult for myself and others. My answer to those is, “Just imagine how difficult life is for Palestinians in Gaza during the last 14 months; no actually for the last 75 years. Boycotting is the least we can do to show solidarity and some missing humanity.”
And just like the slogans the Jews repeated after the holocaust committed by German Nazis against them, “We will never forget” and “Never again”, I say the same to the current holocaust committed by them against Palestinians. Enough is enough. I hope you can join me in boycotting now.
NOTE: Dr Firyal Alshalabi is the author of Summer 1990, a novel about the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein and its liberation. Several of her children’s books in Arabic have gained wide acclaim, including ‘Tasneem and her Precious Shoes’ and ‘My Uncle Khaled’.
