An escalating humanitarian crisis

October 17, 2023

Beloved Meteor readers,

It’s been hard to breathe these last few days. Like many of us, I’m struggling to carry on a normal day knowing there are people digging children out of rubble or wondering if their relatives taken hostage are alive.

Over the weekend, I went into the woods in search of mental and literal silence, only to return to the news that a six-year-old boy in Chicago had been killed in his home in what investigators are calling an anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic attack. And I wept, not only for him and his mother but for the countless children who will inherit this world of violence.

In today’s newsletter, we try to answer a question many have had over the last few days: How can we help? (It’s not simple.) And we bring you updates from the rest of the world.

Clinging to hope,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Unable to cross: The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse. As a result of Israel cutting off all utilities in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s deadly attacks 10 days ago, the region is running out of clean water, food is scarce, and hospitals are overflowing. (Not to mention the 50,000 women who are pregnant in Gaza right now.) Today the UN issued a statement pleading for “safe passage for desperately needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza.”

So where is the aid? There are more than 100 trucks sitting at the border between Gaza and Egypt carrying medical supplies, food, and other vital needs for people just a few yards away. But because the Israeli government has barred any aid from entering Gaza, those trucks cannot move. Were the Egyptian government to allow the trucks passage, the move would be received by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as a move against his government. It would also open the door for Palestinian refugees, which Egypt has said it will not accept.

But the Israeli and Egyptian governments are up against the will of the people. Calls for humanitarian aid have transcended religious and ethnic lines, with Jewish groups demanding action with the same fervor as their Muslim counterparts. As Michelle Goldberg wrote in the New York Times, Jews throughout the diaspora are feeling a “moment of great fear and vulnerability…. Nevertheless, as atrocities are piled on atrocities, I hope Jews will attend to what is being threatened in our name. And all Americans should pay attention, given how much our country underwrites Israel’s military.”

What can you do? There are two paths forward. The first is, if you’re able to, continue donating to groups such as Doctors Without Borders, the UNCERF, Anera, Islamic Relief, or the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Money for these groups helps ensure that Gazans will get medicine, shelter, and food once safe passage is available.

Which brings us to the second thing you can do. Call your representatives, call their assistants—scream it in the streets if you have to—and demand that they pressure President Biden into living up to his word to pressure Israel to open the borders to humanitarian aid. The United States owes it to Palestinians to change course now rather than continue to aid our “ally” in carrying out a genocide.

AND:

India’s highest court chose not to legalize same-sex marriage and instead sent the decision back to the Indian parliament, which will vote on the matter.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has confirmed the deaths of “at least” 11 journalists who were on the frontlines covering Hamas and Israel.
A powerhouse and hero for young women athletes, Margot Polivy, died earlier this month. Polivy was a physical education teacher-turned-lawyer who took on the NCAA in the 1970s and “profoundly” changed the lives of high school and college women athletes.
Afghanistan was hit by a fourth 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Sunday. More than 90% of the people killed last week were women and children, according to UN officials. You can help here.
Palestinian activist and writer Jenan Matari spoke on the outsized role of the media in allowing propaganda to shape the narrative of Palestine’s occupation. And she didn’t hold back.
In an excerpt from her memoir, Britney Spears reveals that she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake, writing that she still doesn’t know if it was the right decision.