Soul Rebel

Less than two weeks from now I will be in an ISM training in Ramallah and take things from there. My insomnia hasn't gotten much better. Watching muay thai live and boxing on television distracts me a little. But Palestine remains on my mind. I can't keep track of the killings in Gaza; in some ways they seem to be the same one repeated over and over. What is the death toll now? How long can this continue without serious international public outcry? What will stop the Israeli Occupation Forces?

The tensions in Palestine are rising and that worries me. I know it worries my mother who wishes I would stay put for the summer instead of going across the globe "buscando problemas." But she knows I can't stay put when given an opportunity to run with rebels.

I'm a rebel, soul rebel.
I'm a capturer, soul adventurer.
Do you hear me?
I'm a rebel, rebel in the morning.
Soul rebel, rebel at midday time.
- Bob Marley

It is a wretched situation in the world when living life, ordinary, everyday life is rebellion. For a Palestinian to breathe, to dream, to love is rebellion - in the face of the Israeli occupation. Palestinians are rebels, beyond rocket launchers and rock throwers, mothers rock babies to sleep in spite of sonic booms and Israeli missile attacks.

I think of Puerto Ricans in Vieques. Who pushed the U.S. Navy off of their land with their resistance and who continue their defiance in order to demand demilitarization, devolution, decontamination, and [sustainable] development.

I think of the Maya in Chiapas who have refused to dissappear, who put on masks so that they would no longer be invisible, and who continue to struggle against the draconian politicians and prophets of profit who attempt to suck them of their life and natural resources.