Photo by Mohammed Abubakr: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-on-a-demonstration-in-palestine-19182161/

How can I help Gaza?

If you have seen the news recently, you would have seen the war between Palestine and Israel, and on a deeper level, you know about the history behind this war and the subjugation of Palestine over the years. This has now boiled over into the current conflict we are seeing in Gaza. The current conflict has caused many
Palestinians to be displaced and killed, with Israel directing blame on anyone but themselves. “Charities and world leaders have called for children to be kept safe while fighting is ongoing between Palestinian armed groups and Israel,” BBC News stated. With global support growing for Palestine, there is hope that this war may soon end and Palestinians can soon be free.

Over the years, social media has given power to many movements, from the Ukraine war to the Black Lives Matter movement. In this new age, it’s important to understand how to harness this new tool to help spread the message about Gaza through the use of social media. Depending on the platform, it will depend on where you are posting. "Fortunately, people today are more willing to speak up and directly challenge that which is wrong as it occurs, right there and then—in other words, using social media to bring about justice through collective action," stated a study from the University of Birmingham.

The social movements of the past made the most impact by people coming together and even risking themselves to fight for change. This can be seen back in the civil rights movement, where people of color sat out of segregated areas and stayed in those areas. This also happened with the women’s rights movement, where a woman threw herself under a horse. Women took on hunger strikes in prison so that women could eventually gain the right to vote and many of the other rights women have today. Peaceful protests may have worked, but not without coming together and with drastic movements to spread the urgency of the movement. “Emmeline was arrested several times and went on a hunger strike, which resulted in violent force-feeding. British women legally gained the right to vote on July 2nd, 1928, as a result of her efforts," stated Global Citizen.

Even in recent decades, talks about Me Too and Black Lives Matter have started talks about injustice in the world. By talking about Palestine, it has brought up issues in other places around the world, with Congo being the most recent activism movement that has happened ever since the Palestine War started. It’s important to understand why you want to talk about it. Do you want to be an activist to help people, or is it because you want to look good online? Reflecting on this can help you have a deeper understanding of the motives behind your actions. By reflecting, it is important to listen to the stories of Palastinians and people who have connections within those situations.

Word of mouth can be an important tool to spread the message, especially with the advancement of social media. It helps to understand what is happening and to spread awareness. It would be wrong not to use this tool for good, right? Well, it definitely helps to create a collective movement, especially for people who live in small towns and villages. Forbes states that 63% of consumers between 18 and 34 are more likely to trust the opinions of influencers over brands and companies. No matter the audience, people are more likely to trust social movements and opinions through social media than through the news. It’s important to talk to your friends or even post consistently about Palestine on your social media.

It’s important to not entirely rely on social media for activism since even though this can make some sort of impact, it’s also important to be active within local causes and charities that help Palastaine and those related to Palestine. This helps spread a message about how important the message is within your local community. With this, it can help you learn how activism can work offline since offline and online activism have very different ways of working. Offline activism may be harder than online activism, but it ends up having a bigger impact in the long term, especially within smaller and local communities.

The silencing of protests has happened for years. A more obvious example is within China and North Korea, where the government criminalizes speech against them. There are also smaller ways of silencing protests, not only through police presence but also through how the national media can portray protesters, making it socially unacceptable to protest. An example of this within the UK is the introduction of the Police, Crime, and Courts Bill, which threatened to add more restrictions on protest and how it was done. The BBC states that the bill would not allow protesters to be loud enough to cause alarm or distress to the general public. This is so vague that it can be easy for anyone to claim distress and shut down a protest they disagree with.

The turning down of protests shows how both scary and evident the idea of protests can be, especially when it comes down to having to silence protests. Over the years, many governments have used tactics to silence protests they do not want to hear. With the threat of protests being silenced, it makes it more important now to get talking and useing our voices to spread a wider message of what is happening in the world. Social media is a bigger place of hope where, when it comes to Palestine, people are able to see what is happening to them on the ground.

Protest, word of mouth, and social media are all crucial to spreading a message about not just Palestine but many other social causes as well. There are many ways that anyone can make an impact, no matter what platform they are on, without having to spend any money. This can help inform people and change people’s opinions for the better. Bringing people together can make for bigger changes, with especially impactful methods being shown through boycotts and bigger protests since these are more of a visual way to get a message across and to spread a message more directly. It’s important to use more than one method to take on activism since it can create a bigger impact.