Dear Senator Wong,

Today, Australia joined 27 other nations in condemning Israel for the “indefensible” civilian death toll in Gaza. I welcome this statement. But I also need to tell you: we are well past the point where words are enough. It is time for action.

I’m writing because I no longer feel able to call your office. For nearly two years, I have tried – daily, then weekly, then monthly. I’ve spoken to staffers, urged change, and asked that your government do more for the Palestinian people. But those conversations became too painful, too disconnected from the urgency and devastation I was witnessing. And honestly, I no longer believe that you, your office, or the other members of the Australian Government fully understand the depth of grief and outrage that so many ordinary Australians are carrying with us every single day.

We are so very ordinary. We are writers, teachers, doctors, engineers, parents, artists, students and lawyers. We are decent people who believe in justice, international law, and the equal value of every human life. For the past two years, we have watched as Gaza has been systematically destroyed. More than 37,000 people, many of them children, have been killed. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands more are missing: buried under rubble or simply vaporised by the appalling bombs dropped on them. Hospitals have been targeted. Refugees displaced again and again. Journalists, doctors and aid workers killed. Civilians starved. Entire families lost. Continue reading →