Silent suffering…

written by Safreena Rajan (Passionate advocate for justice and goodness)

My dear readers,

This is the first time in over a decade I haven’t posted a happy international women’s day message. 

You see, there is a particular situation that is weighing so heavily on my heart, that posting messages like wishing all women a happy day is no longer relevant to me.

There is an enduring situation in a particular part of the world, in which, mothers and children are being slaughtered on a daily basis.  A situation in which men are being slaughtered, tortured, beaten and punished for being who they are. All are subject to starvation as a weapon of war.  As of this writing, (03/23/24) 32, 436 people have been killed. 78, 838 people have been injured, over 2,000,000 are displaced, close to 12,000 have been detained and 360,000 homes have been destroyed.

Inherently, they are being butchered because of where they were born, what they represent and the land they occupy.  And because of their faith.  Let me be clear here; a brutally ugly genocide is taking place because one country wants the land of their neighbours and is doing everything they can to take it for themselves, with impunity.

What is happening on screens internationally, in real time, is a textbook example of what I call the “Christopher Columbus” disease. It’s the supremacist, racist, imperialist, colonialist, reprehensible genocidists, believing in the old world order wherein “Lands” were for the taking, damning the people who’ve been there for thousands of years.

Were this same situation happening because a group of Muslim militants marched into a “Christian” country and took over, slaughtering thousands, mutilating thousands more, starving the rest of the population, we’d be in World War III already. 

Ask yourself if I’m wrong. 

You all know my position here; if you’ve read anything I’ve posted, ever, you would know I stand for justice.  And you would be able to infer that I’ve taken issue with how the world ran to the rescue, with rather alarming alacrity, of another particular country, opening their borders, sending food, aid, and especially weapons.

This happened because they are not Muslim.

What’s happening in the first country to which I referred is not just a genocide against men, women and children. It’s a genocide against Arab and Muslim people. By levelling their cities and killing off their populations either by bombs or starvation, they are preventing future populations from being born. The world powers love the aggressor in this situation. I don’t know why; it’s totally beyond me. And the populations who are demonstrating every week are indicative of politicians being weak, deaf, deliberately ignorant and superficially open to all peoples of all faiths. 

International law and order was set up for a reason- so there would never, ever be another world war ever again.  In fact, a particular group of people who were targeted, were heard stating “never again.”  The world agreed.

 And yet, cue Apartheid South Africa. Cue The Congo. Cue Rwanda. Cue the Rohingya. Cue the Uighurs. Cue Sudan. Cue Somalia. Cue all First Nations and Native Peoples.  Cue Ethiopia. Cue Syria.  

Never again?

There is something all those people have in common that has nothing to do with coming from impoverished countries. You can fill in your own blanks. 

I will end with this: you have to always ask yourself “who benefits” and “where is the money coming from?” in order to understand what’s really happening here.

Please, please, please don’t be one of those people who are on the wrong side of history. Because future generations will ask….


Photo by Muaaz on Pexels.com

happy new year?

Hello All! 

My original thoughts on writing this post were to begin with an apology. You see, every year, I post a “Happy New Year!” message of some sort but this year, I didn’t. And then I realized that I don’t need to apologize, because if I’m telling you what I really feel, and that feeling is a result of what’s happening in the world (and wanting to stand in solidarity with those who are being oppressed), then really, for what do I need to apologize?

I was so disheartened by the world’s lack of attention to the situation in Gaza and Palestine, that I really didn’t feel like celebrating anything or even acknowledging that others were ringing in the New Year with bangs and whoops and booze and all other “happy time” things. With the death toll at (at the time of this writing) nearly 23,000, half of whom are children, and close to 60,000 injured with a further few thousand under the rubble, this for me, is no time to celebrate. There are those of you out there who may disagree with me, and that’s fine. However no one can deny that the response in this situation has been grossly egregious and done with bigoted impunity.

However, I did want to thank you, my loyal reader because you keep coming back and if you were expecting a message for the new year, then I will tell you this: I wish happiness, prosperity and good health for all, peace on earth, a renewed effort to stem climate change and true goodness in all things.

Yes, I’m an idealist. What’s wrong with that? The world needs more of us because we keep the balance between the stupid-nonsensical-idiotic-stuff and what’s good. So here’s what’s good: for every tree you plant, and every item you recycle, you do make a difference. For every dollar you donate to feed people you make a difference. Every time you help an elderly person, it makes a difference. And when you eat “farm to table,” it makes a difference. Keep doing good things. 

You know what else is good? Informing yourselves.
You have the right to your own opinions, thoughts and feelings. Please complement what you feel with information. Not the Wikipedia kind of instant information that doesn’t take into account hundreds of thousands of years of history, but the actual “I read books on it or I did a deep dive into this issue…” kind of being informed. Don’t believe everything you’re told on news networks because I promise you, they all have their own agendas.

  • And participating is good too. So here’s what you can do:
  • If you’re feeling helpless about a certain situation, then start by being informed. 
  • Then write letters (emails) to the appropriate officials. 
  • Participate in boycotts where you can. 
  • Donate. 
  • Share information that sheds a light on what’s happening. 
  • Demonstrate peacefully. Support where you can, when you can. 
  • Share the posts coming from that region, on any of your social media networks.
  • And stay informed.
  • There are many charities and aid groups trying to get food, water, medicine, hygiene kits and vital supplies into Gaza and other regions around the world where there are wars. Feel free to support (or not) which ever organization or group that grabs your attention. 

Finally, I just really want you to know how grateful I am that you keep reading this blog! Stay tuned – you might just find me on other media soon!

May the blessings of this beautiful universe shine so bright in your lives, that you help others without even thinking about it! May 2024 be good to you. 

#Free Palestine

Photo by Muaaz on Pexels.com

Follow the Money Baby!

If you really want to know why the “Western Powers” are not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Palestine, watch the video below.

Shout out to @celinelilas Thank you!!

@celinelilas

this might be the most important video i have ever made… #freepalestine #standwithpalestine #ceasefirenow #palestine

♬ original sound – Celine Lilas

Dear Western World and Media…. You got it wrong!

I am reblogging a TikTok that was sent to me on whatsapp a few days ago because I think everyone needs to hear these words!!

The Western world and media have the coverage of the situation in Gaza and Palestine all wrong. The People of Palestine have been oppressed and under an illegal, genocidal apartheid regime for decades.
Please remember that as you judge them for being less than human.

“You don’t have to support Hamas policies to stand up for Palestinian rights.” – Gabor Mate


I want to be clear- I do not support or condone the behaviour of Hamas. I do however, support the innocent Palestinians who have to beg for water, for food, for the right to be educated and to pray.

Would you tolerate that? Would you tolerate your children being imprisoned, without trials, without access to representation, not being able to see their families for months at a time? Their only charge? Being Palestinian.

I watched a video on YouTube wherein a mother in Palestine refused to go to the market to buy food because she said “if we leave our houses, when we come back, ‘they have already moved in.’ ” They being the illegal Israeli occupiers. These “settlers” are committing crimes under International laws. And yet, are never held to account.

Tell me you would tolerate living like that.

And then tell me where your moral indignation and outrage are.

Global Boiling, Palestine and Consumerism…

A lot of things have been on my mind lately; the genocidal apartheid occurring in Palestine, the number of people dying due to environmental and climate change, and that we’re now in the era of Global Boiling, as António Guterres, the UN Secretary General stated in his speech to the U.N.

It’s scary; we passed the point of no return 30 years ago. We’ve been saying –  for as long as I can remember – that what we’re doing to this beautiful planet is not good. Now, we’re beyond “Climate change.” The climate has already changed and it’s time for you naysayers to jump on the “we need to fix this yesterday!” bandwagon.  We’re in the era of “Global Boiling,” which means the earth is much hotter than it should be and we’re going to be affected by this in a huge way. The fires in Maui, the Northwest Territories (Canada), BC (Canada), Alberta (Canada) are prime examples of this …. 

For every forest that’s lost, we lose the ability to protect the earth from uncaptured Carbon Dioxide. We lose the ability to cool ourselves, to breathe in oxygen, to protect our wildlife. This planet is starting to feel quite dystopian.  And no one can tell me we don’t need oxygen. 

It’s scary that the world cares more for people in the Ukraine than it ever will for the people of Palestine and Yemen, both of which are suffering from drought, famine, extreme hardship and in Palestine, from the manipulatively imposed, genocidal Israeli apartheid.  What is it that makes it so easy to turn away from people who may not look like you? 

Does Rwanda ring any bells?  Congo? Uganda? Afghanistan?  70% of the world’s population does not live in the “Western World.”  Nor do they look like the presupposed Caucasian “norm.”  Canada and the United States only account for .48% and 4.3%* (respectively) the world’s population.  Given that we’re eight billion and counting, that’s not a huge amount.

Every day in Palestine, people have to ask the Israelis for permission to pray, to get water, to go to school, work or university. Would you tolerate that?  Did you know that Palestinians are under water restrictions just because the Israelis feel they own the land?  Would you tolerate that?  Some of you won’t even tolerate your neighbours building fences near your property, let alone having them usurp your land, water and food supplies. Every day that you turn a blind eye is another day that a Palestinian person is killed, imprisoned, prohibited from prayer or forced to choose between going grocery shopping and protecting his/her home.

You think Palestine doesn’t matter.  It does.  It’s one of the longest, most continually inhabited places on the planet.  And if you think “well, the Palestinians always retaliate,” you would be right. And you would be wrong. 

We’re talking about young men, with sticks and rocks perpetually facing tanks, rifles, military grade weapons, grenades, and soldiers with killer instinct training, brandishing weapons that could tear a person apart in mere seconds. Young men who are being systematically, perpetually killed off so that they cannot produce offspring. You call this a fair fight?  Really?  You cannot fault the Palestinians simply because they were born where they were born. And you cannot call this a “fight.” It’s systemic. It’s genocidal; the cultural erasure of one nation by another. Just ask the Uighurs of China if they’re in a fair fight.

China has just outlawed “God,” and is in the process of rewriting the Torah, the Bible and the Qu’ran because it wants the president to be worshipped and all loyalty to its own state. it literally wants to “rewrite history.” Who gave them the authority to determine what’s legit and what isn’t? And what will happen to the people, many of whom are Christian, Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist and Daoist? Are they to stop believing just because their president wants them to?

You know, when you mess with things that are beyond your control or comprehension, consequences abound.

Which brings me to my next scary point; consumerism. People cannot help where they were born. And most live in countries which are being harmed by the overconsumption, degradation and harm caused by developed countries, who, quite frankly, ought to know better.  The mass consumerism that feeds our seemingly insatiable desire for more, faster, better, is going to tear this fragile planetary ecosystem apart. 

These fires are not a result of a cool planet.  The droughts affecting lands once fertile are not a result of a cool planet. The mass scale flooding, viruses spreading like they’re perfume, and boiling summer temperatures are not results of a cool planet.  These result from neglect on a humungous scale; an industrial scale. Humans are destroying the planet faster than we can heal her.

So, let me ask you this: when every tree has burned and there are no more to grow, what then will you build? What will be left to rewrite?

Happy International Women’s Day!

To all the courageous, wonderful, insightful, dedicated, determined, beautiful women, I say happy international women’s day to you all!

This year, I’d like us to take a moment and think about all the women who have survived the unthinkable; from earthquakes and natural disasters, to those who have been murdered or gone missing in different parts of the world. From domestic abuse and stalking to sexual assault or worse, to denial of rights and suppression and oppression.

It’s easy for us to live in a western style democracy and say “happy women’s day!” but what do we know about the women who have to suffer without medication or food or water every day? What of those women who are now facing homelessness? What about the women who can no longer work or those who can’t get hired because they don’t have names like “Mary Smith.”

Women of colour are facing incredible challenges every day, in every part of the world. We only have to look at what’s happening in Afghanistan to understand that gender recognition is a pipe dream in some parts of the world.

Nothing that is happening is by accident; in order for all of this to change, we need to partner with the men who are in positions of power and have decision-making capabilities. Without this, Afghanistan could happen anywhere. Margret Atwood’s “The Handmaid Tales,” was based on entirely true, real life happenings. That’s the scary part.

Our world is sick; we are beyond the point of no return. Healing mother earth will require all of us; not just the 50% who seem to keep bearing the brunt of the world’s harm.

Ladies, here’s to you- and all those who cannot speak for themselves.

Happy Women’s Day

Photo by Chelsi Peter on Pexels.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023

Wishing all of you and your loved ones the happiest and best year ahead.

We have been through much since the start of this last decade. We’ve lost many and made our planet even sicker.

In spite of this, good people are doing great things to create positive and lasting change.

On that note, I wish you and the ones you love all the very best of goodness, health and happiness in 2023 and beyond.

To Barbara Walters, a pioneering icon, trailblazer and pathfinder, thank you. May you now rest in the beautiful peace of our Creator!

Happy New Year everyone!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II

Many years ago, I was outspoken in my absolute disregard for the British Monarchy.  As it goes with many things, years later,  I found myself being rather happily corrected in my assumptions.

We seem to dismiss and disrespect that which we don’t understand.  Living in a “non-monarchy,” it’s very easy to scorn a system that’s seemingly challenging on the taxpayer. Yet, the Brits seem to welcome this challenge with a smile and some form of inebriation!

My outlook completely changed in the spring of 2001, in the charming and quaint town of Windsor, U.K.. My aunt had taken me to the high road, running just along Windsor Castle because a procession was about to take place.  His highness, the King of Jordan, King Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania were in town and were to be feted and driven through the streets in the Royal carriages.  As a lover of history and international relations, I could not pass up the opportunity to see this Middle Eastern power couple! 

70 years strong


What took my breath away was the number of people who turned out, in the middle of the week, to see the procession! I remember I was wearing new arch supports in my trainers and my feet were not happy at all.  But that frustration quickly turned to awe and reverence when Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth suddenly popped into view and smiled at her cheering subjects.  I melted then and there, and in an instant, regretted every “royal” snub or jeer I had ever uttered!  To this day, I remember that smile more than I remember King Abdullah or Queen Rania or the people on the street or the gold-laced carriage or the horses. I remember thinking she smiled right at me but I suppose this must be wishful thinking.  That smile, in one instant, undid the ridicule and judgement of the previous years.  And in that instant, a new royal fan was born. 

I must let you know that prior to this unravelling, I had met Prince Charles and Princess Diana in person and was even granted a gold level Duke of Edinburgh award from the Duke of Edinburgh himself, the late Honorable Prince Philip.  I was not undone by any of them.  There was a bit of star-struck awe at the sight of Princess Diana up close – she was quite beautiful!

That day, in 2001 in Windsor, I began to understand what an absolute treasure the Queen is; not only to her U.K. subjects, but to her subjects of the Commonwealth.  Her 70 years of service is not matched by many.  In fact, the Queen is the only living monarch to achieve this landmark milestone.  I was fortunate enough to be in London for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations and I was stunned- the fanfare, the pomp, the circumstance, the flyovers and the party- What a party!! It’s a celebration I will never forget and it was a very quick education in the appreciation of tradition.  My only regret is that I cannot be in London today for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, so I will say only this:


Thank you your Majesty and Congratulations!  You Go old Girl!!