Think about this: What if they were YOUR OWN little children who were literally starving to death in your arms and no one seemed to be listening to your tearful pleas for help?
When words and pictures are failing to wake the world’s sleepwalkers — to raise enough people’s consciousness to the level of action, to shake the ice-encrusted hearts of the powers that be – perhaps cacophony might work.
Yes. Join a group, stand outside wherever you live in the world, and make noise – loud, unpleasant, jarring, raucous, strident, grating noise. It’s easy. And, strangely, therapeutic. Two-year-olds do it and call it “music”: Bang on pots and pans.
That’s what’s beginning to happen now all over the globe. Small at first but ever-enlarging groups of empathetic people, who are are fed up with all the official nothingness and tired of feeling helpless, are making noise. Armed with well-worn pots and pans of various sizes, plus wooden spoons or spatulas from their home kitchens, caring people are gathering in solidarity to make a loud but nonviolent statement: STOP THIS UNSPEAKABLE CRUELTY NOW.
As these worldwide groups are forming, they’re going by different names, such as “Pot Banging for Gaza,” “Casserole Protest,” and “Stop Gaza Starvation.” (See links below for more information, as well as photos and videos [with sound!] about their worthy efforts.)
Last week here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, too, a group of activists – both Mexicanos and gringos — stood together beneath a new mural in Colonia Aurora (depicting Palestinian mothers demanding justice), holding up a Palestinian flag, chanting “From the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, Palestine will be free!” in both English and Spanish, and, yes, banging their pots and pans LOUDLY.
(Part of the group that met here in SMA last week)
Passersby in cars smiled and waved. People walking by smiled and nodded. Everyone could sense our positive purpose and approved.
I’d brought with me a beautiful, long-handled, handcrafted mesquite spoon I’d bought from an artisan here in San Miguel last year, and my favorite, most treasured saucepan, a small copper pan I’d bought in Paris forty years ago. Up until now, I’d only used this pan for making French sauces — especially when I was a caterer to wealthy clients in Manhattan. This week I learned this pan is even better at making meaningful noise to raise awareness of the starving people in Gaza.
(My French copper saucepan and Mexican mesquite spoon)
Joy Sablatura, another participant in last Thursday’s demonstration, said, “Around the world, people are banging their pots and pans in solidarity with those being starved in Gaza, and we here in San Miguel want to be part of that.”
I subsequently learned that this initially small event here was part of a collective effort that has arisen from three groups in San Miguel who are interested in and committed to freedom and peace in Palestine. These three groups are: YoTeVeo-sma, led by Lena Bartula; San Miguel por Palestina, led by Lulu Guerrero, and Worldwide Movement for Peace in Palestine, led by Victoria Beltrán Kuhn. For WOW readers wishing more information about these local efforts and their upcoming events, please contact Victoria at www.victoriabkuhn@gmail.com .
Oh, you may wonder, what’s the point of this juvenile exercise? Is it just to make our well-fed selves feel better? Could be. Will the countless mothers of starving, dying children in Gaza ever hear our mad banging? Probably not.
But perhaps, and we can only hope this, these mothers will see some positive changes soon – changes our loud noises will have helped in part to make.
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For much more information about the worldwide pot-banging efforts, please go to these links:
YoTeVeo-sma, @SanMiguelporPalestina @WorldwideMovementforPeaceinPalestine
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