Art for helping and hoping with
Lili Chin
Zines downloaded and printed from LA Public Press + Know Your Rights flyers by me
Between the illegal ICE raids & kidnappings in my neighborhood and daily news of other horrors, it has been really hard not to want to draw something that expresses how I feel that I feel confident sharing. The thing is I don't always know what to draw. I am neither a stylish word-artist like Courtney Ahn; nor a witty and talented political cartoonist like Jesse Duquette.
This week I did a sketch of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is not doing anything new. It's just much much bigger. Since 2010, every Freedom Flotilla that carried aid to Palestine has been intercepted and attacked by the US-funded militaristic Israel. It sickens me that OUR tax dollars are being used for propaganda, mass murder, and the killing of journalists and humanitarians. And note that at the same time, Israeli spyware is being used to amplify the terrorism of ICE.
I make donations to groups at home and to families in Palestine. Many of us are doing the same. The GoFundMe requests flood in on social media - they are heartbreaking and overwhelming. I can't donate to every single request.
The flotilla that recently set sail for Gaza, is made up of around 70 sailing vessels, with civilians of diverse faiths and cultures, from over 40 different countries. A disclaimer about the sketch: The boats are not separated by nation. The flags from these countries (which I had already drawn for my Dogs of the World book but didn't use) represent countries that the delegations are from, to show that this flotilla is international. This mission expresses solidarity from around the world for Palestinian liberation, despite our media not giving it much attention. I don't know how much louder the world has to speak.
If you have ideas for flyers, posters, zines, or want to collaborate, let me know!
