For Our Children, For All Children: A Call To Action
I'm one of the co-founders of Whatcom CARE, and even before the presidential election, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really takes to build a stronger, more democratic society. I’ve been listening to voices of people who are focused not just on politics, but on the practical ways we can create community and sustain change. In a recent episode of What Now, with Trevor Noah, he interviewed a political scientist who broke it down into three key actions we should all be taking:
Engage and empower our youth
Focus on local action
Act on the moral obligations we have to other people
At Whatcom CARE, we strive to do all three. And the truth is, these are things we should be doing all the time—no matter who’s in office. Policies shift, but the real work of change happens in our communities. Despite federal attempts to control what’s taught in classrooms, local schools still have a lot of power over what students learn. That means we have power, too.
One issue that has been heavy on my mind for the last 15 months is the devastation in Gaza—violence that is largely funded by our tax dollars. Even with the current ceasefire, the trauma and grief will last for generations. More than 14,500 Palestinian children have been killed and nearly 40,000 have been orphaned during this war. These numbers are staggering, but to put it into perspective:
Whatcom County has about 25,600 children in public schools. The number of children killed in Gaza is 56% of that.
Whatcom County has about 42,200 children under 18. The number of children orphaned in Gaza is 95% of that.
Imagine if these were our children?
The hardest part is knowing this violence is enabled by the dehumanization of Palestinians. As Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd explains in The Right to Speak for Ourselves, the way Palestinians are portrayed—or erased—makes it easier for the world to look away.
That’s why we all have a role to play in humanizing Palestinians in our homes, classrooms, and communities. Listen to their voices. Read and share their stories. Educate yourself about the history of the land and its people. Seek out alternative media. If you’re looking for a place to start, check out our Teaching Palestine Resources for books (preschool to adult), films, webinars, and more.
And if you’re local, mark your calendar for February 23, 2025. The Pickford Film Center will be screening From Ground Zero, a collection of 22 short films by Gazan filmmakers sharing untold stories from the war. I cried through almost all of them at the January screening, and yet I wish for everyone to see this film.
As parents, educators, and community members, so much of what we do is for our children. Let’s keep showing up—for them, for each other, and for all children. Let’s engage our youth, focus on local action, and align that action with our moral responsibility to others—not just for our children, but for all children.