W. Kamau Bell: Palestinians Are My Heroes of 2023

There’s a video on Instagram of a little boy walking through the streets of Gaza. He is talking to the camera. It is a beautiful, sunny day. If you didn't speak Arabic, which I don’t, you might think the little boy was just sharing an innocent story about his life. But if you do speak Arabic, or are lucky enough to have it translated, you will understand that while he is telling a story about his life, it is not an innocent story.

He says, “Please stop the war.” He says, “We are suffocating. No food. No water. No nothing.” The video ends with him saying, “We used to have flour, but now we eat the grain that’s for the pigeons and chickens.” It is heartbreaking. And it is far from the only video like this.

There are many, many videos of Palestinian children, adults, and elders in Gaza testifying to the horrors they are currently suffering. And there are other videos that show the gruesome toil war takes on people’s bodies.