Think of Others
We are moving into 2024 by these instructions:
Think of Others As you prepare your breakfast, think of others Do not forget to feed the pigeons As you wage your wars, think of others Do not forget those who fight for peace As you pay your water bill, think of others, those who are nursed by clouds As you return home, to your home, think of others Do not forget the people of the camps As you sleep and count the stars, think of others, those who have nowhere to sleep As you liberate yourself with metaphors, think of others, those who have lost the right to speak As you think of others far away, think of yourself say "if only I were a candle in the night"
(We’ve seen a few different English translations of this Mahmoud Darwish poem, one of the songs in our 2023 playlist translates the poem as above. Playlist linked at the end of this newsletter.)
Alex: Nana asked what my new year’s resolutions were…
We resolve to push against the silence. We can liberate ourselves with metaphors because so many—most—of us are able to burn brightly in the void created by silence without facing death, forced disappearance, arbitrary detention, starvation, torture, home demolition, etc.
How does this all relate to us? Within many of the most celebrated circles of agroecology, permaculture, sustainable agriculture, “food justice”—whatever you want to call it—you will find some of the most colonial ideologies and practices. One glaring example, community elders are arbitrarily ignored and vilified for the practices they were forced into by colonial capitalism and the myth of endless growth.
In rural Puerto Rico (mirrored in our families afuera) we find ourselves awash with a brand of Christianity that champions fear over love, oppression over inclusion, and chooses genocide over wtf Jesus would actually do. This selective remembering is what feeds silence, what incites genocide.
Steven: We started supporting movements with food during the 2020 movement for Black lives, it is part of what motivated us to start Finca Bueno Compartir.
At a recent picket, we were able to share our red and green bananas with a Palestinian family we’ve seen repeatedly at protests over the last few months. They told us “we are going back to the Middle East next week, and we know that when we go we are not going back alone, that Puerto Rico is with us.”
To everyone who was out summer 2020, who found ways to support from your own lanes: where ya at?
What we’re listening to…
If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll take a moment to listen to the Christmas sermon of Rev. Munther Isaac at the landmark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.
In our last newsletter we compiled a number of resources, take a moment to check it out. We’ve updated and added links to the web version not reflected in your email.
And! Here’s more of what we’ve been listening to on the farm this week: