The End Stage of Racism

The following article was written with the intention and apparent approval by members of an EDI team for publication in a maternity newsletter at a London NHS trust. However, once written, it was not permitted for publication by senior management and members of the executive team.

The End Stage of Racism

By The Birthworkers Collective

Much of the Trust’s current EDI work was born out of the visceral feelings that permeated all our thoughts, when we watched the most historically viewed public lynching of George Floyd. We understood then that racism was a sickness that could no longer be denied. But the true sickness was the structural elements we saw in that video, that there was one knee on his neck, and three other pairs that did nothing about it, but also… countless observers, and none pushed Derek Chauvin off of George Floyd so he could breathe. If you were at that road, and witnessing that homicide, what would you have done? I know what I would have felt: confusion, discomfort, shock, anger. But I know that I wouldn’t be automatically compelled to shove a policeman away from the black man, because a) policemen are meant to be the good guys, and b) challenging a policeman makes you an automatic criminal. However, if we strip away powers, privileges and fears, redacting everyone back to simple human beings, we know the logical, reasonable, ethical thing anyone would do would be to forcibly move Derek Chauvin far away from the throat of George Floyd.

The population of Gaza exceeds 2.3 million people, roughly half of whom are children, who live in one of the most densely populated areas in the world, where a military blockade by land, sea and air has been active since 2007. The atrocities of October 7th exacerbated their plight as the Israeli government, with US and UK approval, enforced a siege where water, food, medicine and fuel have been cut off from Gaza, endangering not just the Palestinians but the Israeli hostages too. Heavy bombardment and a military ground invasion on Gaza has killed over 24,000 people including over 10,000 children, while injuring more than 60,800, and rendering approximately 2 million people displaced from their homes, at the time of writing.

Deliberate military aggression has destroyed the healthcare system in Gaza. The obstruction of medication, along with the killing and detainment of medical staff has depleted the system to a capacity of just 36% which cannot meet the accumulating demand, according to the WHO latest emergency report from 29th of December. This has meant that surgeries have been conducted without Anaesthesia, including amputations on children and Cesarean sections on women and birthing people.

There are no longer essential health services for the people of Gaza and many have died from no access to medication for their usual ailments, such as diabetes. The attacked sanitation system has compounded a humanitarian crisis already facilitated by the siege, displacement and winter. This has made menstruation unimaginable and facilitated a rise in disease including diarrhea among children with an expectant rise in Hepatitis. A toddler died last week from the cold.

Attacks on Maternity units have disabled their purpose and created death in a place that commonly welcomes life. There are currently 52000 pregnant women in Gaza who are not receiving perinatal medical attention, and premature births have accelerated as have stillbirths. The inhibition of food and water is processing an impending famine, making lactation incredibly challenging for women with newborns, especially as unavailability of formula milk makes breastfeeding their only option. UNICEF has defined Gaza as the most dangerous place on Earth for children.

Despite South Africa labeling Israel as a conductor of genocide to the International Court of Justice, we are watching a humanitarian catastrophe, at the height of visibility that no other besigment in history had access to, and it has not stopped. The structural elements are vast and overwhelming: US backing, UK backing, mainstream media septic with Islamophobia, and the endorsing silence of many institutions. The grandiosity of the situation can feel overwhelming, but we each have the power to resist injustice. It starts with sitting with discomfort: of educating ourselves, of recognising what we did not know, of empathizing with the victims and of engaging in discussion. It’s important to connect with discomfort not only because it enables us to grow in understanding and resilience, but because it is also the very least we can do from the comfortable safety of our part of the world.

Maternity staff are so much more than just the physicality of their role, we guard the space for life to emerge from its first test of resilience and crucially, to stay alive. The birth of healthy babies from protected parents forms the bedrock of familial health. We are therefore all advocates for human life and dignity, which automatically envelopes human rights. The fight for justice is not unlinked from our labor ward, to the tent in Gaza. We must act, even in the tiniest way, to spend our privileges for those with less power, because what we are witnessing is the end stage of racism, and the pathology of racism, no matter what variant, all have the same genetics. We therefore need to critique systems and their dangerous flaws, because George Floyd could have lived had bystanders taken action for those 8 minutes and 36 seconds where they were watching his murder. The catastrophe unfolding in Palestine demands our immediate attention, our voices, and our collective commitment to humanity.

Sources:

WHO Gaza hostilities 2023, emergency situation report, edition 19, 29/12/23

https://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/Sitrep_-_issue_19.pdf?ua=1

Gaza deaths and injuries toll as of 16/1/24

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-01-15-2024-966bd5a9375e7439dd3de5fc113a7e7d

Healthcare collapse:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/11/14/With-no-anesthesia-sterilization-Gaza-s-women-risk-their-lives-during-childbirth-A

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/18/bloodbath-israel-keeps-hitting-gaza-hospitals-amid-international-uproar#:~:text=The%20Nasser%20Medical%20Complex%20in,to%20Gaza%27s%20Ministry%20of%20Health.