The moments when the occupying Israeli forces attacked and seized the vessel Vincovolo, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in international waters… #EyesOnSumud
Today, in 1977 they killed Steve Biko, cowards of the apartheid system, because they hated his mind. He was a proud black man, with an independent mind… he had written in one of is essays, that "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
Let us ask, where is your mind? For freedom is first and foremost this insistence to be responsible for our mind. To insist on our ideas. Insist on thinking for ourselves. Africa, where is your mind?
When our leaders, in order to resolve African conflicts, chose to travel to Doha, under Trump tutelage, one must ask, where is our mind? When Africa is so rich a continent with mineral resources for the industrial technologies that define the entirety of modernity, and yet remains trapped in underdevelopment, disease and poverty, we must ask, where is our mind? What our there in Africa, tell us, that we have disarticulated our minds from the tentacles of the oppressor? Where we cannot think without the tutelage of a white man?
When a leader whose community suffered lack of water, sanitation, and electricity takes this community’s money for self enrichment… we must ask, where is our mind? When political leaders cohabit, fraternise and collaborate with criminal and gangster cartels to loot the state, kill whistle blowers and bribe judges, we must ask, where is our mind? What kind of people are these, whose entire being is enslaved by greed, selfishness, conspicuous consumerism, and egotistical insatiable desire for fame… where is their mind? When they think so desperately through their stomachs?
It is with this background that Steve’s injection remains ever more relevant today, that the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. This already means the oppressor no longer needs physical violence to subjugate you, no. You conduct yourself in the internet of the oppressors’ superiority! That is what signifies the fact that your mind is in their hands, and not yours.
When Israel assassinated my father, and targeted him brutally until his body was torn apart and his soul scattered in the air, I was then just a child no older than four months.
So where were those newspapers?!
Where was all this media uproar and coverage about my father?!
These 1,500 Palestinian men from the West Bank were all TAKEN HOSTAGE today.
Israel doesn’t even deny it.
But what I know is that if ONE Israeli or Jew was taken hostage today it would be BREAKING NEWS.
These men were stolen. Kidnapped.
And are being held hostage.
This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.
I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.
I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.
I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.
I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.
I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.
I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.
O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.
Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.
Anas Jamal Al-Sharif
06.04.2025
This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom.