A true story of tiny personal significance
As a child I was bullied relentlessly in the private school I was in for showing my support for the Palestinians
When I was a child I wore a Palestinian flag at a school awards ceremony. I made it myself. It was a small sticker on my arm. I walked across the stage, accepted my award, took the flag off and kissed it. This was at the time Israel was killing yet more people, 'mowing the lawn,' murdering more children.
As a result of my actions, I was bullied by pro-Israeli students, the headmistress and the school. I was harassed and called all sorts of names. I was followed around in school by groups whispering obscenities and threats under their breath behind me or into my ears, all in full view of the teachers and staff. I was told I would be pushed into the ground and my head stamped into the floor. That I was the lowest of the low. I was subject to numerous racial slurs, ‘p**i, bl**kie, sand n*****r’.
I was not expelled because it was a private school and they will never turn away money, and no-one ever actually could articulate what wrong I’d allegedly committed, what rule I had seemingly broken that caused this intense, tangible anger. But my parents told me off, said it was too dangerous to raise the rights of Palestinians. It was a lesson I would never learn.
I was told I could not wear the flag. I would not back down: I said that the Star of David flag was worn as a necklace by some students so I would continue with my small sticker - it was not a swastika and nor was it offensive to ask for equal rights.
A sympathetic teacher told me I could keep the flag on my person, in the inner cover of my homework diary so it wouldn’t bother anyone. I relented. Opened the diary at every opportunity. I was a shy child and the bullying I experienced was intense and soul-crushing. I became an insomniac due to the anxiety and stress. I was too scared to go wherever the bullies would be, so spent all my break times and all my lunch times hidden in a classroom while everyone else socialised outside. This lasted for two years, until I left. I even stopped using my locker, as one girl had smashed the door into my hand as she walked past. It was my ‘bad’ hand - one I already had problems with, and one a few years later had to be operated on. Girls can be horrible and these bullies were the nastiest of all existence who I've ever personally come across.
I was the sole person then, standing up in school against Israeli oppression of the Palestinians.
Now the whole world has arrived with their Palestinian flags. God bless them, their bravery and their sacrifice.
FREE PALESTINE!
The WHOLE WORLD SHOUTS IT NOW! FREE PALESTINE!
P.s. those who bullied me? You know who you are. Look what the world thinks of you now.
The force was strong in this one from a young age! She found out a key lesson - that bullies are cowards and they support criminal behavior!
Congrats on your bravery!
Zionism is a disease. Speaking TRUTH is the cure! Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Your great courage under very difficult circumstances is admirable.
It is astonishing how threatened some are by a gentle challenge to an unjust situation.