"The Floutist goes to Palestine."
A letter to readers.
To our readers,
With this letter The Floutist launches a new project. We’re calling it “Palestinian Voices” because our intent is to travel to Israel and the West Bank, listen to as many Palestinians as we can, and let their voices be heard.
Cara Marianna, our co-editor, will make this journey in mid-April. She is now hard at work planning it and arranging contacts in Ramallah and elsewhere. We’re asking for your support to help make this project possible.
Palestinian experiences, perspectives, hopes, and aspirations are almost never given voice, especially in the United States. If they are rarely heard, they are even more rarely understood. Media reports and our public discourse are dominated by pro–Israel advocates and talking points. This, an insidious effort to dehumanize a people, is intended to shape public opinion and bolster uncritical support for Israel. And in this it is regrettably effective.
It is now a matter of urgency that Palestinians—from all walks of life—have a chance to be heard. The tragic and brutal circumstances under which they live will never change, and peace will never be possible, so long as silence is imposed upon them.
This is why Cara plans to travel to Palestine this spring. She intends to spend two weeks, primarily in the West Bank, recording conversations and bringing Palestinian realities and voices directly to you and a wider audience.
We have budgeted this project carefully and set a funding goal of $6,500. Donations will be used to cover costs of air travel, ground transportation, accommodations, sustenance, and guides and translators.
Cara has started a GoFundMe campaign to help finance this project. Please join The Floutist in this effort to honor Palestinians by letting their voices be heard as they deserve to be honored and heard. This is one way we can make a difference. It is a question of raising awareness, and of changing the discourse.
We chose GoFundMe because it offers a wide range of donation options, including debit and credit cards for those who wish to avoid PayPal. However, please be aware that the site automatically adds a hefty tip to your donation. You can avoid the charge by selecting another tip amount or by cancelling the option altogether.
You can make donations through GoFundMe by clicking here.
PayPal donations to my private account can be made here.
Those who prefer, can mail a check to this address:
Cara MariAnna 2211 Teal Court Bellingham, WA 98229
Donors who give up to $50 will get a six-month subscription to The Floutist. Everyone who makes a donation of $50 or more will get a one-year subscription. All donors will have priority access to Cara’s reporting during and after her journey.
If you make a donation, please be sure to send us your email address so we can get you a complimentary subscription: winterwheat7@gmail.com
The Floutist thanks all of you for reading our work. We hope you will find “Palestinian Voices” worthy of your support.
—C. M. and P. L.
À propos of nothing really - Bellingham is a sister-city to (among others) Port Stephens in NSW where my wife and I lived and taught the latter half of the 1980s/first early years of the 1990s. It is also the birthplace of poet/writer - now domiciled with his Ay=ustralian wife in southern Tasmania - David Mason - noted for a verse novel on the Ludlow Massacre as well News from The Village out of his time living as a neighbour to Patrick Leigh Fermor in the village of Kardamyli - south about 25 km from Kalamata in the greek Peloponnese. A cousin in BC has cousins in Bellingham. Small world... Jim (And best wishes with the visit to Palestine). I want to attach an image here but if I can't I'll send it otherwise - it's the tend/Users/jamesskable/Desktop/428627012_10160567176043962_5035385737348645643_n.jpgerest of images - gained from FB via an artist/writer friend who can't recall where he found it...
This is a commendable and brave project. Hope to put toward it soon when able. Given how dangerous Gaza is and especially for journalists, please make sure to be safe doing this, too!