This year was the first Christmas I’ve had the chance to celebrate. I bought gifts for friends, decorated a Christmas tree, watched movies, and went to Christmas markets, yet things have been feeling far from festive. I could only go into the holiday season with a heavy heart. What is there to celebrate while genocide is happening across the sea?
When I wake in the morning and before I sleep I am filled with a sense of dread. I wonder how much more death, destruction and brutality I will wake up to. And even then, I am privileged. I feel this all from the comfort and safety of a place where I’m sheltered from the cold, the rain, and the unforgiving world. I don’t wake up to the violence. I wake up to images, news reports and statistics on my phone screen.