If you grew up with the bombings of Afghanistan and Iraq and if you happened to be a person of the global majority with a Muslim sounding name and opposed any sort of western (or western backed) bombardment you would immediately be labelled a terrorist.
Do you remember those days?
We would hear stories about families we knew whose homes were raided and people arrested under the counter terrorism act. It created a sense of panic in the community I grew up in, we had to be seen as unequivocally loyal and hide our political views from the world, we learnt to adopt a certain silence.
I remember not exploring anything related to politics for years or voicing any opinion I had for fear of potential repercussion.
This all began to change when I met a neighbour (who happened to be white) openly talking about how awful the Iraq war was and how the constant invasion and bombardment of Middle Eastern/ Asian countries has given rise to counter groups who are seen as terrorists.
But the true impetus were my children and their questions. They wanted to understand the situation in the Middle East, they wanted me to explain why some lives were more important than others. They protested their schools attempt at censorship and their bravery shamed me out of my silence.
We are tired of staying quiet for fear of appearing threatening and we are so sick of diluting our words so that we are more palatable.
Protesting genocide, apartheid and Israeli oppression does not make us terrorists (or terrorist sympathisers).
We will never again stop calling for a Free Palestine.
🇵🇸 ✊🏽 🇵🇸
My Daughters; My Catalysts (link in bio)
TW: this account discusses suicidal ideation
This is something I began writing maybe 7 years ago but was only able to complete it this year when I started taking a creative non-fiction class. This is a reflective account and I hope that you get something from it. It’s not designed to bash people of a certain culture or religion, this is purely my experience. I have read it back to myself in a pretty dead pan voice so I’d encourage you to do the same :)
As always, comments/DMs are welcome but please keep it respectful 🙏🏽
Special thanks to @evershirin for her extensive notes and suggestions 🫶🏽
Thank you also to @camille_2leg@j3xxy@yamyuke@hopeitsmatt for their kind words and encouragement while I took the time to write this.
The hands of my father 🤲🏽 - a short essay on grief and coming to terms with the death of a parent.
Please swipe to read the whole piece. Thank you 🙏🏽
Edit: noticed that I mentioned Gujarat as the village but it’s actually the state.
01.04 - turning 38 wasn’t too bad after all 🥰
Was surrounded by so much love that I didn’t really take any pics but a massive thank you to everyone who made it so special 🫶🏽
I’m including the last pic cos it’s too cute.
🎥 @liamsongsheridan
📸 Hani
Climbing + other things. As always the vibes were immaculate, but maybe it’s because I love being in Alba so much.
Swipe until the end for the bonus foot pic. Sorry about the calluses 😙
📷 me, Anna, @flowiaa
I really thought this would be a send trip but sadly it wasn’t. I felt a bit too tired, injured and out of shape.
Being happy makes my climbing regress a bit. 😅
I still had loads of fun though and got to try new problems I usually wouldn’t have considered, these have now been added to the never ending project list.
Problems I tried and enjoyed:
Pasarela clandestina 6B+ - only send of the trip besides random warm up boulders. Was really fun to do.
Flor de Loto 7B - not my style but the moves were really cool. Would love to go back and work it more.
Sisha Nulera 7A - wanted to try this for a while, unfortunately didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Eclipse 7B - the old nemesis. Got scared and came down right at the end, even though I’m screaming ‘I’m falling’ in the vid.
Truco Truco 7A - one of the only dry blocs on a very rainy day. Wish I had more power endurance to complete it, it’s actually a v cool line.
Placa Roja 7A - briefly tried this on the last day, would love to work it more next time :)
Ocasa / ? 7A/B - tried this when I got fed up of Eclipse on the first day. Wasn’t sure if I should try the early exit or the later one. Was difficult not to use the tree for support 😅.
📷 Anna
🎥 @flowiaa@lucaandstuff@gydekrg
Was feeling extremely dysregulated recently, but being in the Peaks is so healing. I’m moving to Sheffield in 3 years and opening a cafe, who’s in?
Problems I tried:
1. Late Junction 7B, Curbar.
2. Early Doors 7A+, Curbar.
3. Ben’s Roof 7C, Ravenstor. (This might be THE proj for me 😍)
Thank you for the love and psych @liamsongsheridan@ari.auu@lucaandstuff 🫶🏽
Also ft. @shmrcortez@lion_henrk@con_theod Mon, Kirsten and Patrick.
Climbing is the ultimate edging experience.
Got so close to sending so many times but it just didn’t happen. Next time though. 🤞🏽
Eclipse 7B - surprised to get through the crux so many times, guess I need to practice topping out more.
Techo Don Pepo 7A - feels more difficult than Eclipse, it’s very tensiony if you’re short .
Regleta Fantasma 7A - Michaela found this one. Really nice movements at the beginning, just need to work on the end.
El Trillo 7A - only tried the beginning briefly. Beautiful boulder and looking forward to giving it a proper burn.
La Fuente 7C - way too difficult for me (yet).
Thank you Alba, you have a special place in my heart 🫶🏽
📸 @ari.auu@mecca_bingo@evilellie@bobbievylan
