#The Evacuees

[huong1952]

huong1952: The Evacuees

I am not content with this life,

Waking up in the morning, overnight

Children's cries heard, somewhere

A stampede,

Bare footed people running,

Babies in mothers' arms,

The old and infirm pulled in carts.

Once in my motherland, there was a war

which left a bitter after taste,

The residues of chemicals that burnt

Deeper than napalms.

Today I see a trail of evacuees

Zigzagging like ants under rains of leaves,

An emergency, a death sentence,

Running from nowhere to nowhere

In a caged plot of land.

No, I am not content with this life,

Going to bed at night, waking up alive

To the sound of explosions

Elsewhere

Or right here, inside my heart.

Peace had become a dirty word soaked with blood.

Once in my motherland there were

Carpet bombings and revenge killings

By both sides,

Deadly rockets fell on trails of evacuees

Running from nowhere to nowhere

In a caged plot of land,

All in the name of peace.

I am alive, curse me! A survivor!

And I am not content with this life.

History brought back lessons of death,

But alas the hearts denied!

A life is a life,

A kill is a kill,

Intentional or not (who says not?).

I am alive

But the soul is gasping for understanding.

In this madness,

The human eyes are closed (not blinded),

Ears muffled (not deaf),

Hearts hardened like stones.

Only the earth, soaked with blood, moans,

When blistered feet of the innocents

Trample on...

[palms-upturned]

‘Exhaustion’, ‘panic’ as the displaced search for shelter in Deir el-Balah

May 8th 2024, 11:45 GMT

Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, Gaza

Events are evolving rapidly. People in Rafah are filling up the roads and evacuating from the city.

They are moving their stuff either by car or by animal-drawn cart, using whatever means of transportation available as Israel expands its intense bombing campaign. The bombing seems to be moving a little further towards central Rafah, as well as the western part of it.

People are pouring into central Gaza by the thousands, mainly to Deir el-Balah city.

The vicinity of this hospital – Al-Aqsa Hospital – is becoming very crowded, with many families looking for any small, empty area… to set up tents or whatever they’re able to construct.

Exhaustion and panic define what these families are experiencing.

‘Hamas will move northwards’: Israeli military spokesman

May 8th 2024, 12:25 GMT

Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, said he expects Hamas to regroup and continue operating even after the Rafah operation, but that Israel will keep pursuing it wherever it goes.

“I want to tell the public so that they do not delude themselves: Even after we deal with Rafah, there will be terror,” Hagari said in an interview with Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

“Hamas will move northwards and try to reconstitute itself, even in the next few days. In every place Hamas returns to, including in northern and central Gaza, we will return to operating.”

[sophiamcdougall]

Sorry if I come off as fanatical, but I do have a LOT of questions regarding the Mars Evacuees universe. So I'll just ask them one at a time, if that's alright. First question: would you ever reconsider writing a third book?

It's been long enough now that I don't think there's any reason not to give the frank answer to this question.

I did consider it. I had a plot worked out. Unfortunately these things aren't always (or often) up to us.

The initial contract was for two books.

Around the time the first book was coming out, I wrote this incredibly mild feminist piece in the New Statesman about the gender discrepancy in bookshop displays and how it made me feel.

And then a certain prominent bookshop chain threatened me. It let my publicist know it didn't want me in its shops to promote my book, because it didn't know what I might do. And then, it decided not to carry the second book, which basically guaranteed it would not sell well.

Maybe those things are unrelated, but it certainly didn't feel like it. My agent and publisher largely abandoned me, (it didn't help at all that my initial editor, who loved the book, had sadly been away with cancer for much of this period) and as sales were obviously disappointing, there was no question of a new contract for a third book. And that's why I haven't published a book since. Aside from the direct damage to my career, the emotional impact was such that I think I'm only over it now. It made it so much worse that when you have a book coming out, you have to be positive about it in public pretty much no matter what is actually happening. It feels like gaslighting yourself. Now, when I talk about this, even people I consider close friends who knew me at the time tell me they had no idea.

I quite recently had a dream in which I was talking to a fellow woman writer I won't name who has been through somewhat similar shit, and heard myself saying, "It's taken a long time, but I think I've healed."

Which might be true. But it did take ten years.

[henk-heijmans]

Evacuees from London to a farm in Sussex are thrilled with new lambs, ca. 1940 - by Reg Speller, English

[stanford-photography]

Why Me? By Jeff Stanford, 2024 Buy prints at: https://jeff-stanford.pixels.com/

[trexalicious]

Per ICE sources, the man seen in a viral video being subdued by residents & arrested by police w/ a blowtorch near the Kenneth fire in West Hills is an illegal alien from Mexico named Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva... #OpenBorders

[virovac]

Noor needs money for surgery of her hand! (Gaza Evacuee)

The campaign has been checked by @90-ghost here

(making my own post due to surgical pictures), wanted to spread further)

Her hand was hurt prior to leaving Palestine

@/noarfamily @/noorfamily2345

I traveled to Egypt, clinging to the hope of receiving the medical care I so desperately need. However, the cost of treatment is overwhelming. The surgeries, medications, and physical therapy are all essential, but I simply cannot afford them.

My children need me, and I need your help. I don’t want to give in to pain or despair, but I cannot do this alone. Every donation you make is a lifeline for my children to feel safe again and a ray of hope for me to regain my strength and stand by their side. Please, help me. Give me the chance to recover, to care for my children, and to be the mother they so desperately need

Please help her!

She's out of Gaza, let her have a chance to live!

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 11th Feb 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

A dog rescued in Gaza could understand Hebrew.

A volunteer US eye specialist has saved the sight of many wounded IDF soldiers.

50,000 volunteers show that they have “One Heart”.

Another breakthrough in the production of green hydrogen.

A startup used its own invention to save its business.

Three instances of proactive women entrepreneurs.

Israelis won international gold medals in skiing, kickboxing, windsurfing and jujitsu.

The Argentine President promised to move his embassy to Jerusalem.

Read More: Good News From Israel

The photo (TY Sharon) is of Sabra fruit growing on prickly pear cacti in the Jerusalem sunshine last week. Israelis are called after the sabra because they are thought to be prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside. I think that you will find many of the news articles in this week's positive Israel newsletter are sweet on the inside.  So please have a look inside and below.

[i-am-l-ananas]

STOP STOP THE TIMES ARE ALREADY INTERESTING ENOUGH!!!

[confettininjabean]

my new Swtor Oc. Tiriza Rand.

[idrellegames]

I remain one of the few Ren stans- against the Clown Train and Veyer fans😅

(hey that rhymed!)

I'm sure you will have company once Episode 4 rolls around!

[galesdove]

the one time i want to get overpriced coffee from the place right near me the entire building has been evacuated for crime reasons

[sophiamcdougall]

Were you personally involved in creating the Mars Evacuees Cadet Training game and/or microsite? Additionally, do you know who made the objects and textures for the game (specifically the Flarehawks that pop up in the first gamemode) and do you have copies of any of those that you could share?

I'm afraid not, sorry!

[howdyfriend]

I was there like last March and it's gone now. great.

[thelivingdeceased]

omg !! pixel art !! of my silly novel about a child in wwii !! omg !!

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

how many colin allred campaign numbers do i have to block i have never not even once lived in texas 😭