Nina Rances

And while this is happening while people are buried under rubble, while children freeze in tents, while entire families vanish overnight powerful men sit comfortably and present plans for a “New Gaza.”

Clean slides. Perfect buildings. Investment numbers. A future imagined without the people who are currently being erased.

They talk about peace while bombs are still falling. They talk about rebuilding while destruction is ongoing. They draw maps over land that is soaked with blood and call it hope.

The ceasefire is a lie.

What’s happening is ethnic cleansing, repackaged with the language of development and diplomacy. You cannot build a “new” city by destroying the people who belong to it. You cannot promise a future while actively killing the present.

This isn’t peace. It’s violence with better branding.

Today, three journalists were killed in a single airstrike.

Not soldiers. Not fighters. Journalists. People who believed that if they kept documenting, if they kept filming, if they kept writing, the world would eventually care.

In Gaza, telling the truth has become one of the most dangerous things you can do. Holding a camera is treated like holding a weapon. Every photo risks your life. Every report could be your last.

They had names. Families. People waiting for them to come home. They were not numbers, and they were not mistakes. They were silenced because truth is inconvenient, because images expose what statements try to hide.

When journalists are killed, it’s not just lives that are lost it’s evidence. It’s memory. It’s the last barrier between reality and denial.

…

Donations for GAZA

This donation campaign is for ANAS family. Not for strangers, not for a cause I’m distant from but for the people who raised me, the people I love, the people I’m terrified of losing.

They are in Gaza, trying to survive something no human being should ever have to endure. Constant bombardment, displacement, hunger, fear, and the feeling that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Every day is about staying alive one more night.

If you choose to help, you are not donating to an abstract crisis. You are helping real people with names, memories, and lives that matter to me more than anything.

🔗 This is a verified Chuffed campaign to support family:

If you can’t donate, please reblog. Visibility is sometimes the only protection we have left.❤️

So it turns out that the whole “Electric Portcullis” solution to the noose not working in the final lair is quite a bit older than I thought it was. 

I am reaching out on behalf of my dear friend, Mohamad S., who is facing one of the most challenging times of his life. Mohamad is 37 years old and left his homeland in 2015 in search of a safer and better future. He’s a kind, hardworking man, and his small family has always been his greatest priority.

Living abroad, Mohamad has recently endured unimaginable loss and financial strain. Amidst the ongoing conflict in his homeland, his mother passed away, leaving behind his sister and her five young children—the last remaining members of his immediate family.

As the situation worsened, Mohamad managed to help his sister and her children escape to safety in Egypt, covering their immediate needs and securing a temporary refuge for them. Since then, he has been fully responsible for providing everything they need to survive during this transition.

In his efforts to support his family and cope with this devastating loss, Mohamad has found himself deeply in debt. To make matters even more difficult, he recently underwent knee surgery, which limits his ability to return to work for the foreseeable future. This has made it even harder for him to manage his financial responsibilities and the pressing need to provide his family with a stable future.

Mohamad is now working to bring his sister and her five children to join him in Belgium, where he hopes they can find stability and opportunity after all they’ve endured. This transition, however, requires significant resources that he is currently unable to meet alone.

For privacy reasons, we are not sharing Mohamad’s full name, as he has chosen to keep his identity discreet. While he initially refused the idea of asking for help, I couldn’t stand by and watch him struggle alone. I insisted on doing this for him because he deserves a chance to overcome these challenges.

Your contribution will help Mohamad repay the debt incurred during this difficult time, cover ongoing living expenses for his family, and assist with the costs involved in bringing them safely to Belgium.

Mohamad has been a good friend of mine for years, and I’ve always admired his resilience and generosity. Any support, no matter the size, will make an incredible difference in helping Mohamad and his family rebuild their lives after these painful experiences.

Thank you for reading his story and considering helping a man who has always done everything he can for his loved ones.

Adam

✅ Vetted by Association: @bilal-salah0

Donate & share: Donation Link

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We need your solidarity with us at this bad time.🇵🇸🍉🙏

🙌Verified by Butterfly effect project line 355 in spreadsheet🇵🇸🚨here

Here in Gaza after a cruel war, We are a family of 15—10 adults and 5 children. Every day is a battle for survival. Food is scarce, humanitarian aid is not reaching us, and my little nieces and nephews go to bed hungry. Among them is my sister, who is deaf, and another sister who has a newborn baby. They, too, are suffering in this crisis, and I’m doing everything I can to protect and provide for them.

We need your support to save us and to help us after the destruction that surrounding us here in Gaza.

Please if you can't donate you can share it with your friends, family, and networks. Together, you can help me give my children hope, warmth, and sustenance in this critical time.🙏🙏🙏🍉💔

You can donate here

my brain:

Recently, I’ve been watching a Philippine drama for the first time in a very long time which is a surprise to me as well, but nevertheless a good one.

I’ve been faithful to my “one drama per year” rule for the last few years, but I’ll make an exception for this one as that was originally set for K dramas to make time for more important things and to increase my productivity as I grew busier in the last 3-4 years. I’m definitely not the same 13-year-old K drama camper that I used to be. Those who are no strangers to K dramalandia know that they produce a lot of dramas every year, which are in all respects, good and interesting. At the end of the day, it all depends on the genre that you enjoy watching.

That aside, I found myself marathoning episodes of GMA’s “Maria Clara at Ibarra” these past few days. It piqued my interest after watching the trailers for having the elements that I’m looking for in a drama.

For one, it is based on “Noli Me Tangere” which from Latin is translated as “Touch Me Not”, the first published novel of the late and great national hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal, which touches on the injustices of the state and the church during the Spanish colonial area.

When I was in high school, I spent a year reading and studying this novel and another year with “El Filibusterismo” meaning “Reign of Terror” which is the sequel. Yes, it was compulsory during my time and I remember a lot of classmates hating it, but as an avid reader, I didn’t mind it too much. As a kid, I developed an interest in literature—legends, folk tales, novels, poems, and epics from many different parts of the world including my own. I liked to immerse myself in stories and tales and spent a lot of time in libraries and nooks reading my favorite stories.

Second, it’s based on history which I won’t deny, as boring as it seems, is my favorite subject. I’ve loved history since I was young. I have a Papa and a brother who both do so it’s definitely the subject of a lot of our discussions at home. 😂 The drama takes you back to the Philippines in the 1800s, which is the setting of the original novel, during the Spanish colonial era. The story might be familiar to most people, but for the benefit of those who aren’t, it centers on lovers Maria Clara and Crisostomo Ibarra who grew up together and are engaged to be married. The latter returns after studying in Europe for seven years and learns about the untimely death of his father and the mystery that surrounds it. He also uncovers the power struggle between the societal classes as well as secrets while rekindling his relationship with the former.

The drama, however, injects a twist in the story in the person of a modern (and same name) 21st century Maria Clara also known as Klay, a nursing student by day and hospitality worker at night who suddenly finds herself waking up in the setting of the book that she is reading and just like any other good story, hijinks ensue. There, she meets the characters of the book and learns about the story chapter by chapter as it unfolds. There you go, element number 3—fantasy.

I like that the drama is truthful to the novel except the twist part and is historically accurate in presenting the architecture, clothing, language, customs, and codes of conduct during that significant part of the country’s history. We all love a good historical drama, and I appreciate the educational value that this is bringing to many of the youth who may have taken this for granted in this modern day and age. Very timely after the controversial “history is chismis” (gossip) remark by a certain young actress, but is another story in itself which I won’t be talking about in this post. 😂

I like that it celebrates Dr. Jose Rizal’s work whom I admire for his wit and grit. I have appreciated him more after spending a unit in college studying his life, passion, works, and achievements and even went to visit his house in Dapitan when I was younger. He was a doctor, teacher, prolific writer, poet, mathematician, inventor, engineer, surveyor, humanitarian, philanthropist, champion of human rights, and forerunner of independence among many other titles—a multifaceted individual. I basically spent my whole life studying about him. 💪🏻

The casting is also on point from the lead actors to the supporting ones. They definitely picked a good Padre Damaso and Salvi. Grrr! I used to hate him in the original book and I still loathe him after all these years. The look in his face irks me. 😂 The casting is wonderful. The writing is engaging. The cinematography and locations are stunning. In addition, I’m relearning my Spanish and Filipino again which is good. 🙌🏻 The latter is not my first language and I’ve always made a conscious effort to improve on it, although I’ve been speaking and writing the language all my life. Another round of plus points for bringing forth and highlighting the importance and significance of (learning) languages which is something I am passionate about.

Hearing stories about the recent increase in sales of both Noli and El Fili in Philippine bookstores following the warm reception of the drama is heartwarming. It’s something I’ve always wanted to see and read about in this lifetime. I still have my copies of these books in my parents house. They may be old and worn out, but I’d definitely encourage the future generation to read it. I’d be more than happy to lend or give these away to my nieces, nephews, or godchildren provided that they look after them and the rest of my books so they can live and be immortalized forever. 📚

The original book discusses the injustices and cruelties experienced by the poor and disadvantaged at the time of the Spanish colonial period. In addition, it also talks about the various societal issues and challenges that the old, young, and women faced. By the time this and its second book was published, it faced a lot of backlash and banning from the government and the Catholic church which ultimately led to Rizal’s demise. He was excommunicated, exiled, eventually assassinated, and died a hero while fighting for independence.

Then, there’s the palpable chemistry between the leads which I’m totally on board with as I do like a good laugh from time to time. 😂

At this point, I am unsure if the drama is going to touch on the second book which is darker as compared to the first one, but I am definitely in for the ride ahead. 🙌🏻 For the first time in a long time, I am watching a PH drama and a GMA one at that. Both Jinggoy Estrada and Robin Padilla in the senate will hopefully stop winging about the proposed ban on K dramas in the country to increase the patronage of local content. I meant, if they were as creative, interesting, and well-taught off as this, why wouldn’t the general public watch and support it? We stan and support dramas that promote history, literature, culture, the arts and other disciplines, and our identity (in my case as a Filipino) regardless of where we were born or where we are now and our mixed herritage and inter-racial influences as a people. I could probably go on about this, but that’s another story altogether. 😂

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