Over and out(age)

The footage of Gaza since October has been some of the most harrowing stuff I have ever seen. It has been very upsetting, and it continues apace.

I dreamt I was one of dozens of people taking shelter in an abandoned supermarket during a civil conflict that was likely the Israeli assault on Gaza. At the back of the building a former loading bay had been converted into a temporary morgue. I was put onto a shift of transferring babies’ bodies into skips for incineration. There was no fuel to power the incinerator so they were just being dumped like trash. Some of them were still just alive but the doctor standing nearby said that they couldn’t survive their injuries.

I’m certainly dreaming of this because of the footage of the bombardment that I’m following on Instagram, which is seeping into my subconscious. This conflict is perhaps unparalleled in history for the amount of live imagery that is being broadcast. I refuse to turn away and be desensitised because the world needs to know that there is a mass killing of a people taking place. The discomfort of observers is absolutely meaningless compared to the catastrophic experience of the people of Gaza every second of the last three months. It is unbearable to imagine, yet I believe we must follow it. I know the words above are very graphic, yet this is the world we live in.

I can be very insular at times, so I haven’t been chatting with many folk on this trip. Yet it’s nice when one takes the opportunity. A friendly German lad introduced himself over breakfast. A policeman taking a month off work as a mental health break from home after splitting with his ex-girlfriend. A marvellous idea.

I went on a trundling road journey across Unguja Island to Stone Town to spend New Year’s Eve with Robin and Kate, fresh from their Christmas break to South Africa. We hung out at the swimming pool all afternoon and then had dinner at a quiet restaurant with an intimate vibe and lovely view.

Back at their place, we were faced with unfathomable electrics and power outages. In darkness and with no way of getting cool, we decided to attempt sleep at 10pm, by a long stretch my earliest ever New Year’s Eve. I awoke again just before 3am for a few sweaty hours and in time for UK New Year celebrations, and then slept through until morning.