Since first writing Episode 7 of We Who Stand On Guard, which visits the era of the Oslo accords and two operatives tasked with uncovering a potential threat to the arrival of peace in the region, I've been keeping a steady eye on the situation, and watched it grow from a situation of the similar application of force as was visited upon the outskirts of Tel Aviv on October 7, into a full fledged human rights crisis and potential genocide. I voiced my stance against this escalation of force, targeting hospitals and civilians by the IDF, though I truly became aware of the scope of issues involved once I first started taking notice of the flotillas looking to break the siege upon Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla and the Global Sumud Flotilla, both of which were initially founded in the region between 2008 and 2010, during the IDF's war with Lebannon.
The fact that activists have been making a statement of this nature, without the support of press coverage is quite remarkable, and many of those who've participated from that far back are still with these flotillas, in support of Gaza. You could say that for myself and likely many others throughout the world, that the real pressure towards peace began with the activism of these courageous people, and the work of Doctors, Nurses, support staff in the regional hospitals, journalists, ex-military of the region, and activists (including the timely support of activist Greta Thunberg) who spread the word through various online media, which created the tidal wave of support that had been building since 2008, thanks to many people, most namely, the victims of the attacks, whose voices finally reached the world by way of these activists, many of whom have been doing this exact same thing for years, if not decades.
I've been an advocate for a long time (perhaps as far back as 2012, when my online content first arrived), but my first really having presented posts and other advocacy dedicated to the matter didn't arrive until long after these Flotilla activists had been doing it for years.
I hope that nobody thinks of me as trying to be (or being) a glory hog, because that is certainly not the case, I present the fact quite clearly here that these flotilla activists were the biggest factor in my realization that I had to give this situation more attention than I'd already given it. When Canadian Thanksgiving came up as the opportunity, it was the work of these activists that made it all possible for me to realize that I could use this space and its underground draw to make people aware or at the very least, contribute to that awareness.
It is great that the world leaders finally stepped up to the plate and made possible what had long been expressed by courageous activists, but truly, these advocates deserve our gratitude. They've been doing this for a long time and making people aware of the growing crises in Gaza, while other activists of a more biased bent have remained silent on the issue of the Gazans. The wave of pressure that broke through and led to this peace, would never have been possible without the people who had to courage to stand in defiance of what was being silenced.
I'm most humbly grateful that Shhhh! Digital Media could be a part of such a thing, but that was only possible as a result of people who've been far more courageous and doing the actual activism on that front for decades in the very region where this all finally converged towards an armistice. Let us hope the fighting has ceased and the future of a lasting peace between Gaza and Israel is as bright a hope.
Please, remember the efforts of those who I've cited in this post. But most of all, remember that the Gazans, who've returned to the millions of tons of rubble that was once their home, are just starting the process of searching for their lost loved ones, some of whom might be buried alive, while many others might be long gone.
Wounds such as these don't heal over night.
Brian Joseph Johns
CEO, Writer, Artist
Shhhh! Digital Media