Equitable New Year to all!

Here goes another year as recurrent in events as every other year. Nothing new, really. Wars and conflicts ravaging the planet, continuous migrations, hunger in some parts of the world, satiation and luxury in others, racism flourishing, fascism returning, patriarchy at its best, and colonization as brutal as ever. Perhaps the only difference at the end of this year was the FIFA World Cup, held in Qatar!

Once again, football steals the limelight. Such an infatuating game! Each match takes fans on a mind-blowing, emotion-igniting journey straight through the human instinct and into the deepest configurations of the human brain. Perhaps it is the tendency to excel, or the intense urge for belonging, or the desire to accomplish any achievement for whatever identity, all of which are driven by the competing nature that governs human life since birth.

Did we not all cry out of joy when the Moroccan team scored a goal or in disappointment when the opposing team pulled it off? Did our hearts not race whenever the Palestinian flag was raised on the field? An infatuating game indeed, reducing all the planet’s conflicts to a ball!

And as every movement around that ball was broadcasted worldwide, people withdrew from reality and slithered into the world of magic. They forgot all about their daily problems and the concerns of major human issues, dismissing that life continued as it was, from the far east to the far west, evidently passing through Palestine. Then, when no one was watching, tyrants seized the opportunity to envenom their brutality, shamelessly dropping their masks, performing besiegement, killings, bombings, and demolishing homes. No one was paying attention. The colonial mind knows how to exploit anything to its advantage. Distraction is its most powerful tool!

Argentina won the championship. Some celebrated, others cried, and people returned to reality. As for us, we have continued to strive and fight with all that we have.

In this coming new year, we hold on to the values ​​that guide our work and illuminate our path, and they are as solid and comprehensive as ever, however challenging they may be.
In this coming new year, may we all have freedom.
And may we and the entire planet be blessed with peace, justice, and utter splendor.