Love And Life Lost Amid Israel-Palestine Conflict – Queering The Map Stories
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s longest-running. What can be forgotten, amid all the politics, is the devastation that everyday people suffer during wartime.
Queering The Map is an online community project built in 2017 in which LGBTQIA+ people from around the world can drop pins at their location and write anonymous messages of hope, love and solidarity. We recently took a look at some of the messages from queer folks in the Gaza Strip and Israel and the messages they have to share are important and must be heard.
We carry the stories for those who can’t
Currently, the people of Palestine, in the Gaza Strip, are being subjected to bombardments from Israel in what the government claims is retaliation for the Hamas surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
We visited Queering The Map to find the stories of LGBTQIA+ people in Palestine and Israel, and they are heartbreaking. Violence and hatred are costing people their lives. Victims are pleading that the world remembers them and their stories.
From Queering The Map:
“This is where I first fell for you. It was 2021, the last major Israeli bombardment on Gaza. You never knew you were the reason that I first listened to my favourite bands or watched Portrait Of A Lady On Fire. Everything comes back to you. Now you are a student abroad and Israeli occupation bombs may take everyone and everything you ever loved away. Your mom, your home, your memories. I am so sorry the world failed you. That your mom, sister, best friends, everything is lost in this genocide,” writes one user from Gaza.
“I’ve always imagined you and me sitting out in the sun, hand and hand, free at last. We spoke of all the places we would go if we could. Yet you are gone now. If I had known that bombs raining down on us would take you from me, I would have gladly told the world how I adored you more than anything. I’m sorry I was a coward,” writes another user from Gaza.
“A gay Palestinian man in Gaza in [sic] hated by people for being gay and hated by the Israelis for being Palestinian I am so lost and alone. It always felt like I would have to give up parts of my identity to exist and that I would never be excepted by anyone. But I know and I have realised THAT I HAVE TO STAY STRONG to fight for my rights not only as a gay person here but as a GAY PALESTINIAN PERSON I will choose parts of my identity I AHVE found peace within myself and now I have realised I have to be strong ❤️❤️ FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸, LGBTQAI+ RIGHTS FOR EVERYONE EVERYWHERE 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️!! BE STRONG EVERYONE DONT GIVE UP! ❤️”
“Free Palestine! Sincerely, a gay Jew,” writes one user.
“You held my hand, cooked me fresh pasta and kissed my neck. We discussed languages, religion, politics, culture, history and music. You understood the world, you understood me. In case I wasn’t clear in expressing how appreciative I was – I wanted you to know that you were the healthiest relationship I’ve ever been in. You gave me hope for what queer Palestine could look like. I hate that Israeli checkpoints made us live in different cities and drift apart. I wish you all the good in the world, you deserve it.”
“My grandparents were born here before their exodus in 1948, so please don’t support the occupation because of their pink-washing. I deserved to live here just as they did, I deserved to be indigenous to my land and not a stranger everywhere I went. I miss a city I’ve never seen and it hurts. A gay Palestinian is indigenous to here and always will be.”
Stories hold power. They contain legacies and pain and amid the confusion and contention, you are able to find real people who are reaching out to be heard and leave their mark. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is immensely complicated and nuanced, but what isn’t is that people are hurting. Their stories will always have a place here.
