Two of our Fellows - volunteer speakers who connect with SNS via a range of regional organisations (see a list of them here) have kindly written up some of their recent feelings about the situation on the ground. We're keeping them anonymous to keep them safe online and on the ground.

A. in Jerusalem

Another round of violence, fuelled with rage and hatred. I, too, am filled with anger, sadness and disappointment, and quite legitimately so. Civilians on either side of the spectrum are paying the price for a conflict they didn’t choose.

Talking about what's happening in Israel-Palestine is vital, now and always. But we have to do it without falling back on Antisemitic and Anti-Muslim tropes and speech.

Think before you post!

As we witness the heartrending wheel of violence in Israel-Palestine turn again, we are devastated to share that one of our Fellows has suffered terrible loss among his family, including six children, one of them a baby. Words are hard to find in the face of this. First and foremost, these were innocent little ones from whom the opportunity to live has been taken. Our thoughts are with him and his family and with all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones in Gaza, and Israel.

By Mais

#HumansOfSNS

I don’t remember much about my first time fasting Ramadan, but I remember receiving a pink shirt as a gift for fasting for two weeks when I was 7. By that age, I started understanding what Ramadan means to me: it is about handling the suffering and hunger of a long day to receive the gift it affords by sundown. The gift is not an ugly shirt (I always hated pink) but it is the whole atmosphere that wraps the month up and the lessons it gives me every year.  

For this blog post we're sharing the reflections of three of our volunteer speakers from Palestine on the holy month of Ramadan, as they reflect on what this time means to them and its significance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently in its third and worst wave in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Next week we will have a longer piece from Mais about her experiences of Ramadan this year.