"I was evacuated to France, where I saw the reason why the world is allowing my people to be slaughtered. I write this from Paris, a city wrapped in blue and yellow. All around me, Ukrainian flags hang like moral badges pinned to French facades. I arrived in this city just a few weeks ago as a survivor of the genocide in Gaza, leaving my country burning behind me."
"What first struck me about Paris, this so-called city of liberty, was its curated grief, sanctioned empathy, and decorated silence. France mourns Ukraine loudly. Gaza, on the other hand, must be whispered. The Palestinian flag cannot be seen here. It is hidden, feared, criminalised. If you're lucky, you find it painted in graffiti, a shy declaration of solidarity hastily sprayed like a secret."
"When France supported the Zionist movement in the 20th century, when it trained Israeli officers, when it helped militarise a settler-colonial state on stolen land, it wasn't out of ignorance. It was out of solidarity, white solidarity, with another colonial project. France condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine within hours. It opened its borders. It cried on TV. It cancelled concerts and imposed sanctions. Why? Because Ukraine is white."
A survivor evacuated to France describes Paris as visibly mourning Ukraine while suppressing Palestinian symbols and solidarity. Ukrainian flags appear widely; the Palestinian flag is hidden, criminalised, or limited to clandestine graffiti. France's colonial history is cited, including past support for Zionist movements, military training, and the militarisation of a settler-colonial state. France responded rapidly and publicly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine but hesitates, equivocates, and continues arming Israel amid Gaza's destruction. The text characterises the violence in Gaza as genocide. By official statistics, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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