Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

Managing Editor @HealtheNews
Bylines: BMJ, AJ, Guardian, Nature, SciDev,TedIdeas
Former BRAC/eNCA/SABC
Atlantic Fellow For Health Equity

[Dr. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui @sabreenaGS]

You know, even if Iran wasn’t beautiful and historic and its people not so educated and cultured, it still does not deserve to be bombed.
Stop measuring the worth of human beings and their homelands with western moral reasoning.
This too is a symptom of internalised colonialism.

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

@JHBWater Hi. This burst pipe at Albury Office Park has been gushing water since the early hours of Monday. Over 24 hrs later, it hasn't been seen to

[Dyab Abou Jahjah @Aboujahjah]

On this very spot, nearly 50 years ago—perhaps in 1975—I sat with my mother under the shade of a fig tree at the entrance of this house. I was only four years old. Suddenly, helicopters roared through the sky, and my mother, her voice trembling with fear, said, “Dyab, we need to get inside. It’s dangerous.” At that age, I didn’t understand much, only that something monstrous—something my mother called Israel—was in the sky, firing on people below.

A year later, that same monster came into our village. It burned our homes, destroyed everything, and committed a massacre, cleansing us from the land we called home. We escaped death by a miracle. This house, like the rest of the village, was reduced to ashes. All my toys and clothes were left behind, as were my father’s beloved books. We escaped with nothing but our lives. I grew up far away from this house, but Israel kept pushing us, kept destroying what little we rebuilt.

In 1982, during its second invasion of Lebanon, Israel burned another home we had made. Once again, we fled with nothing, my father forced to abandon his books yet again.

When Lebanon was liberated in 2000, we returned to our village. My parents poured all their savings into rebuilding this house, right here on the same spot where it once stood, under the same sky. They made it beautiful—a three-story home surrounded by gardens. Every summer, we visited. My children played where I had once played as a child. They walked under the same sky that had witnessed both joy and horror.

And now, once again, it is gone. Destroyed. By the same monster that first targeted it almost 50 years ago. The same monster that continues to haunt us, relentless in its pursuit. Back then, Hezbollah didn’t exist. Hamas didn’t exist. The resistance was not born out of ideology—it was born because occupation was there. Because the monster was there.

We will rebuild this house again. For the third time. Because this home is more than just stones and walls—it is a symbol, a commitment. It stands as a testament to our dignity and our refusal to surrender. It is a house in southern Lebanon, and that makes it sacred, more sacred than any temple. It belongs here, under this sky. No amount of destruction can change that.

Even under the rubble, my father’s books remain. A home is not just a physical space—it is a bond, a history, and a statement of defiance. This house was destroyed time and again because we refuse to accept a life without dignity. Because we will not accept occupation. Because we will never break our bond with Palestine.

For this cause, we are willing to pay any price—not just in stones or memories, but with everything we have. Without dignity and freedom, life is meaningless. And so, we will continue to rebuild. Over and over again, if that’s what it takes.

[Thread Reader App @threadreaderapp]

@BrettMmurphy Your thread is very popular today! #TopUnroll https://t.co/htMOeBm2Zp 🙏🏼@Liminallife1 for 🥇unroll

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

@MyJRA Hi. Any plan to fix the traffic light at the busy Hyde Park Corner intersection of Albury/Jan Smuts/6th Street? And to fix the dug up part of Magalieszicht Avenue that's been left with a gaping hole for months?

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

@Win_about_2_sin @NatalieAndrew Chiming in, because I had a sudden onset of vertigo that's going on 3 days. Fully intend on seeing my doc, but would love to know how you cope with it. Is this my life now?

[mohammed hussein~Gaza 🇵🇸 @mohammedIhysse]

I wrote my own eulogy because I feel death approaching me now😥.

In the heart of Gaza’s war that devours souls and steals dreams, I mourn myself as if I see my end looming on the horizon. Yet, I hope my words will remain alive, bearing witness to the fact that I loved life with all my might, even though fate was unbearably cruel. Do not let my words die with me; share them. Let them be a living memory that never fades.

I clung to life, brave and unafraid, loving peace and all the details of existence. But fate chose an ending I was not prepared for. I never surrendered; I stood firm in the face of death, even when it imposed itself. Tell my friends I ascended to the heavens standing tall and resilient. Tell them I flew without wings, swam in a sea of pain while shackled, yet never broke.

Tell my children that I was a loving father who held them in my arms during the bombing, so my soul would take the shrapnel instead of their tiny bodies. I was their shield, the fortress that swallowed fear to keep them safe. Teach them always to stand with peace, hold on to hope, and plant love wherever they go.

I was stronger than sorrow and despair, wiping my tears and telling myself, "I am strong; I will not cry." I loved my homeland and never sold my dreams. I dreamed of a tomorrow where I would see it free. I wanted to embrace freedom and shake hands with peace, but fate was faster than me.

At the end of my eulogy, I leave you with this will: Build a different future—one free of wars, filled with peace. Embrace your children, be kind to the elderly, and choose leaders who cherish life and peace. Always stand by the weak and help them until they become strong.

Do not build me a statue; instead, pray for mercy for my soul and remember me with a smile that tells my story and a heart that beats with love and peace.

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

Racism is not a strong enough word for this garbage. Openly saying there should be one rule for white people and another for the rest of the world is apartheid, pure and simple. We've had 500 years of this colonial ideology and it must be destroyed.

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

As Morongwa Nitini from @TAC says 'the place you seek healthcare should not place your health further at risk'. And it's an issue of dignity and violation of rights https://t.co/yKLhrdBVxu

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

We need to talk about toilets! This is a snapshot of conditions at primary health facilities (dirty, no soap, toilet paper, and in some places, no water) but it's clear that sanitation is an issue of systemic neglect.

[Health-e News @HealtheNews]

For #WorldToiletDay, our community journalists visited 31 primary health facilities in the Free State, Limpopo & KZN. They spoke to 313 patients about the state of clinic sanitation. Here's what they found. 👇

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

It's not just a cosmetic issue-it's a public health crisis. Prof Nicola Page from @nicd_sa says unsanitary environments are a breeding ground for diarrhoeal pathogens and enteric viruses.

[Mbekezeli @MbekezeliMB]

The digital nomads have arrived.

They come with offers of R40 000 for a 3 bedroom house.

Cape Town’s residents working normal middle class jobs and paying school fees have no ability to match this.
They will be pushed out of the city.

The housing crisis deepens.

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

Well done @AIJC_Conference @DineshBalliah @beetromp on inviting Naledi Pandor as keynote speaker. Other journ events silence the topic of Gaza, thank you for placing it on the programme agenda 👏

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

@ChangeAgentSA

[Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla @bb_aisha]

@AstroSibs I'm convinced there's an inverse relationship between intelligence and popularity on X-inanity and stupidity attracts followers (which says a lot about the followers)

[Chris Hedges @ChrisLynnHedges]

https://t.co/x8GjIEteWC

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

The “rules-based order” boils down to this: The states of the imperial core can use unlimited violence to secure access to the lands, resources and labour of the global South, including gross violations of international law, and with total impunity. But any use of violence in resistance by the people of the South, even if minimal, and even if it is within the bounds of international law, can legitimately be punished with apocalyptic devastation.

[asad abukhalil أسعد أبو خليل @asadabukhalil]

I was born when there was no Hizbullah, Hamas or even PLO. Yet, I grew up in Lebanon suffering regular Israeli murders, invasions, bombings, kidnappings, all over the country. You can only believe that this is really about Hamas or Hizbullah if you know nothing about our history.

[Monisha Rajesh 🍉 @monisha_rajesh]

The slow revelation of inhumanity in the people who walk around us, work with us and who we count(ed) as friends is one of the most sinister parts of the last eleven months. I can’t believe I was ever alone in a room with some of you.