Restricted Movement and Holy Anger
by Rev. Chad Collins
Monday, August 5th, 14 sojourners from across the country, myself included, left for our local airports early in the morning with our sights set on nine days of learning, loving, and living together in physical solidarity with our siblings in Palestine. Most of us were flying through Europe en route to Amman, with a planned trip across the Allenby Bridge for Wednesday the 7th (the day I am writing this) to begin our journey of solidarity.
One by one, we began to receive notifications that our flights had been canceled. We were being rerouted but soon heard from our siblings on the ground (with Sabeel) that chances were high that we’d get stuck somewhere and not be able to arrive in Jordan as intended. The decision was made by our hosts to postpone our trip.
[A side note: seven of us were already en route to our transfer airports in Chicago and DC when we received the news of the cancellations. As I type, all have returned home safely, though sadly much of our luggage remains in limbo!]
We were never officially given a clear answer from our airlines, but we all know that airlines from the US, Canada, and Europe began canceling flights in response to the purported threat of imminent retaliation by Iran and Hezbollah, in response to Israel’s assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. The airlines deemed it unsafe to travel to Jordan, because of its proximity to the potential fighting.
Now, as disappointed as we were to hear the news, we understood and began to accept the reality we were not going to go. That said, many emotions came over us! But, we began to really settle in on two major feelings. The first, deep concern. The second, holy anger.
We are deeply concerned for our siblings on the ground in Palestine who have no choice but to remain in the region, deemed unsafe by all major US airlines. This is not a new feeling for us, particularly throughout the US-funded Israeli genocide in Gaza, Palestine. But, as we were prohibited from traveling to be together with our siblings, we were overcome by a deeper sense of fear and concern for their safety.
Furthermore, we are angry that the unsafe situation preventing us from traveling and in which our Palestinian siblings are trapped is aided, abetted, and completely funded by our government and supported by many millions of Americans—with many who claim to follow the Palestinian Jewish man named Jesus leading the charge!
Our disappointment at not being able to travel pales in comparison to the daily restrictions of movement Palestinians in the land and in the diaspora have! The genocidal open air prison / concentration camp that has been the Gaza Strip; the lack of freedom to travel from Palestinian city to city without facing the guns and the checkpoints of the colonizing military or the fully-armed fascist settlers; and the refusal to allow the over 7 million Palestinian refugees the right to return, or even visit!
It's our anger and our concern for our siblings that will keep us focused, whether we are here in the belly of the beast or back on our journey to join them in Palestine.
Though the trip that we have worked hard for has been postponed, we will not be deterred from our travels. We will not be denied the chance to join hand-in-hand with our siblings in the heart of the struggle for justice and liberation! Delayed, yes! Denied, NO! It is the call on all of us to never let the winds of this world's systems of evil and injustice sway us to give in or give up! We stand steadfast, sumud, as our siblings in Palestine have taught us! Waiting with expectation to make this journey a reality! So be it! See to it! So it is! InshaAllah!