Mazin Qumsiyeh – Little Buffalo (with MUST SEE video)
By Guest Post • Jan 14th, 2010 at 14:14 • Category: Analysis, Features, Israel, Mary's Choice, Newswire, Opinions and Letters, Palestine, Resistance
We just finished a 10-day tour in Italy where I gave six talks. I am now in Jordan where I will give a talk Friday (6 PM, Al-Balad Theater, near First Circle, Jabal Amman). Here I am hosted by my generous Zoologist friend Prof. Zuhair Amr and we take time out to relax and watch nature shows for a while. On one show there is this little buffalo that is taken down by 6 lions at the water's edge and as they struggle to kill it, a 600 pound crocodile attacks the young buffalo and a tug of war ensues. At one point four lionsare pulling in one direction and the crocodile on the other. Finally the lions win and you think the little buffalo is done for. Then, the unexpected happens as the buffalo herd comes back united and battles the bride of lions; in one case flipping one lion some 8 feet into the air. The little buffalo finally stands on its feet and pulls away from the clutches
of the last lion and all the lions are chased away. We think there is a political message there. Even wild animals do not abandon those in distress and power can and does change.
(to see this incredibly powerful video, censored on YOUTUBE, click: http://dailymotion.virgilio.it/video/x8d6eg_we-are-the-ones-we-have-been-waitin_news or watch below.)
Everytime I travel to give talks, I get confirmation that there are in each country on earth three groups of people (a) people who care about others, (b) people who exploit others, and (c) the vast majority who are just trying to live their lives and are afraid to take a stand. Group B people try to exploit and cause suffering to groups A & C and group A tries to challenge them and help group C. Occasionally there are defections from one group to
another. The relative proportionof one or another group and the intensity of their efforts can define the character of a country. It can be a country like a bananarepublic with dictators and mafiosa running the show, or a country that is more rational and altruistic, or a country that is an anarchy of poor people.
We think it is interesting to look at the motivations of individuals. After all, history is
made and unmade by groups of individuals. What makes an Egyptian official participate in the suffocation of 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of Gaza? What makes an Israeli official order the arrest of civil rights activists in the West Bank simply for speaking out against injustice? What makes young Israeli soldiers obey manifestly illegal orders of an army of
made and unmade by groups of individuals. What makes an Egyptian official participate in the suffocation of 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of Gaza? What makes an Israeli official order the arrest of civil rights activists in the West Bank simply for speaking out against injustice? What makes young Israeli soldiers obey manifestly illegal orders of an army of
colonization and occupation engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity? (see videotapes, pictures etc at
)
I believe we as human beings are not guided by higher faculties as much as by emotions: fear, need for love, need for food and shelter, worry about an uncertain future and so on. This is true for a billionaire who is looking for his next billion even when it hurts other as it is for a Mother Teresa. The only difference is how the individuals prioritize and mix these emotions (themselves guided by our background and upbringing). While this is
true it cannot justify the actions that hurt others. That those who espouse Zionism had relatives who perished in WWII and are fearful of their future does not justify committing ethnic cleansing and creating a racist state that clearly has two sets of laws one for Jews and one for those few Palestinians who remained after the ethnic cleansing.
I say this because I see all the time people who have willingly decided to remove themselves from the oppressor class to join in the struggle against oppression (and yes also people who do the reverse). So I sometimes wonder if the switching is influenced by perceptions of trends in history. I say this because those who abandon human rights activism or who leave the life in the middle to join the class of oppressors sometimes argue that it is because "there is no hope" in challenging oppressors. The world is unfair
and so we might as well just watch for "me"/"number* *one". But then again, I am not sure if this is simply a cop-out explanation. I sometimes wonder if it is because those individuals are simply not facing the reality that they can make a difference. They maybe simply lacking self confidence or have lost that self confidence after a few setbacks. By contrast I wonder if those who switch from a mind of indifference (or even class of oppressors) to positions of working for peace and justice have had an experience that
showed them the power of human solidarity that they could participate in.
I also wonder if we adults sometime simply do not get it or we have lost our idealism of the youth and then reclaim it. A few years ago when I lived in the US and we had brought the Children from the Aida Refugee Camp for performances (theater, dance etc), I had an interesting and revealing experience. As we drive the Children from Connecticut to Vermont, the two of us adults in the front were talking about how the politics is so messed up, how it is so difficult to deal with things when there are many challenges. A girl behind tapped me on the shoulder and said "don't worry uncle Mazin, Palestine will be free!" Later, my adult co-passenger explained to me in private that the Israeli army had killed this girl's mother! I always think of this whenever I get negative vibes from within or without. I will now think of the little buffalo and the little girl.. Don't worry…
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
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Great video and especially moving after recently reading Mazin's story. My one difference of opinion – i think there are many motivations to ACT – anger being only one of them. Without taking the time to explain my concerns with igniting our movement by getting angry, which i think serves hate as well as love, and sometimes people get careless with their anger and end up hurting people ,certainly it makes many people fearful, rather than helping them to think more clearly. I think we are much better served if we can give more power to a desire for all of us to be free ,even those who oppress us. I think the great spiritual leaders/revolutionaries were able to inspire people to work to serve justice for all. I'm trying to work through the anger that springs up within me when i learn about the terrible things people do and suffer – and this anger brings me to the brink of hate ,from time to time. Personally, i know that doesn't serve me well and i think on a systems level, we've got a better chance to move to a place where we all – those who are oppressing and those who are oppressed (and that is another phrase that i should use carefully as one could perhaps write a thesis on just that) can create a culture that's "just" for all – or as close as we can get it.
thanks ,pat
[...] BTW, Mary Rizzo found the video of the struggle of the Little Buffalo used in political message and posted this video with my article at http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/01/14/mazin-qumsiyeh-little-buffalo-with-must-see-video/ [...]