Breaking the last taboo - Gaza and the threat of world war
Real
journalism is alive in Gaza. I often speak on the phone with Mohammed
Omer, an extraordinary young Palestinian journalist. Whenever I called
him during the assault on Gaza, I could hear the whine of drones, the
explosion of missiles. He interrupted one call to attend to children
huddled outside waiting for transport amidst the explosions. When I
spoke to him on 30 July, a single Israeli F-19 fighter had just
slaughtered 19 children. On 20 August, he described how Israeli drones
had effectively “rounded up” a village so that they could savagely
gunned down.
Every day, at sunrise, Mohammed looks for families
who have been bombed. He records their stories, standing in the rubble
of their homes; he takes their pictures. He goes to the hospital. He
goes to the morgue. He goes to the cemetery. He queues for hours for
bread for his own family. And he watches the sky. He sends two, three,
four dispatches a day. This is real journalism...
"There is
a taboo," said the visionary Edward Said, "on telling the truth about
Palestine and the great destructive force behind Israel. Only when this
truth is out can any of us be free."
