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mia's avatar

Thank you for writing this. So important to contend with the limits of awareness.

I've been thinking a lot about this essay: https://mentalhellth.xyz/p/against-grief-as-political-currency over the past few weeks, which talks through similar ideas. Super recommend. The author, Kevyan S., also goes into how this dynamic affects those grieving, to have to immediately turn their grief into a political weapon. Along those lines, I recently read "The Drone Eats With Me" by Atef Abu Saif, in which he details his experiences in the 2014 war, and he talks about the complicated relationship many Gazans have with journalists. They know how important the work is, yet some see journalists almost as parasitic, feeding off trauma.

Of course, this sentiment isn't exclusive to Gaza, it may have changed in recent years; it doesn't reflect the feelings of all Gazans toward journalists, nor diminish the brave and important work journalists do. But I thought it an important perspective, to think about how it feels to have your trauma on display, to have a camera in your face at your moments of greatest suffering and loss. So that's something I've been thinking a lot recently --- how to bear witness to what needs witnessed, and also be respectful and thoughtful.

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