Are these end days? It certainly seems like it.
Violence and insanity seems to have gone to warp speed. I wake at 5am to read my newsfeed. ‘Israel hits Tehran again.’ I feel sick. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran has moved from being a US ally to an anti-Western power. It’s about regional influence, nuclear programs, oil and ideology. Oh, I should mention that Iran holds the world’s third largest crude oil reserves. As a feminist, all I see is powerful old men fighting. And oil, spilling into the sea. Like the black blood of a dying monster. Except it’s not dying. It’s coming for us.
This is chess. To capture the queen (or king) you lose a lot of pawns. The people on the ground, people like us, the powerless, they become the human collateral in a play that was never about them. We’re in the beginning of what could be a world war, where bad diplomacy, super egos and a lack of restraint, could see this current Israel-US attack on Iran, and subsequent retaliations, escalate into a broader Middle East conflict. And beyond. It’s five past midnight on the Doomsday Clock. The sociopaths are at the wheel. And we’re all in the backseat, on the highway to what certainly feels like hell.
The skies over Iran Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and the Arab Emirates have been shut down, this is the world’s busiest aviation corridor. Attacks have hit some of these airports with people sheltering in place in Dubai. I was only just there, it seems surreal to imagine the chaos, the smoke, the thousands of people trapped in the most liminal space on the planet.
Then there’s the 11 Australian women and 23 children in Syria’s Al-Roj camp. They have passports but the Australian government is adamant that they won’t lift a finger to bring them home. These are the so called ‘ISIS’ brides – and our government is more afraid of the political backlash in bringing them home than they are of leaving them to die. The women are under heavy surveillance and they are cooperating with authorities. Only one of the women has had a temporary ban placed on her. They are languishing in one of the most unliveable places on earth. One woman was 14 when she travelled to Syria.
I have no doubt that these women have been in coercive relationships. That they made stupid decisions. But the 23 Australian children? They are innocent. How can we as Australians witness this decision of our government to leave them in danger? To continue their suffering? Where is our compassion? When are we going to stop creating the conditions that radicalise children? Bring them home.
Back here, the media has decided to focus on hating on Grace Tame because targeting outspoken women is great for social media algorithms and distracts from the real issue, which is why, during a genocide in Gaza, our PM would invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia. And why tens of thousands of peaceful protesters were subject to police violence? What has happened to our right to protest? Are police actually allowed to punch you in the neck? Or push and grab you while you’re praying?
And in the months after the mass shooting in Bondi, instead of sweeping gun reform, the Minns government has announced a 250-strong police unit with longarm rifles who can form a rapid response unit to protect against hate-related offences. The Armed Response Command. We still haven’t seen how ‘hate’ is defined. And who it applies to. Does this mean they’ll attend peaceful protests like the one on 9 February? Are the guns there to protect us? Or shoot us?
What the fuck is happening to our democracy? Be quiet. Step down. Don’t speak up. Don’t rock the boat.
These are my dark thoughts before the sun comes up. The knot of anxiety about what is ahead. And my fury at psychopathic old men who hold power and the lunacy of their actions. Only one thought reassures me. There are more of us. Don’t believe their bullshit. Don’t fall for fascism. Keep your compassion.
We’re going to need each other. We are all we have.
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