I have a bit of a different newsletter for you today.
It’s likely not what you signed up for, but it’s something that I need to say.
In my work, I tell my clients that their core values should hold even if – especially if – external conditions change and it might be held against you. After all, it’s not really core if it changes with external factors, is it?
And as I have been watching the ongoing atrocities in Israel from the safety of my home, reading up on the conflict’s history, and growing sadder, angrier, more sick to my stomach with every bit of news that comes out – I realized that I can’t stay silent on this, even if that makes me a target for bad faith actors.
Without spending too much time on details that will no doubt invite plenty of discussion, the facts show that Israel has so far killed more than 10.000 civilians, more than half of which are children. Whoever is not killed no longer has access to healthcare facilities, food, electricity, internet, or even clean water. They have nowhere to go.
Experts have labeled Palestine’s occupation a state of Apartheid (source), and a growing number of experts is convinced that Israel’s actions constitute ethnic cleansing at best, and genocide at worst (source).
Every fiber of my being tells me that what is happening here is wrong, and an affront to our collective humanity.
It is my firm belief that the world should not allow this, and that we need to demand a ceasefire.
If you, like me, have been told that the situation is “complex”, and you feel like you don’t know enough to form an opinion, Rami Ismail, Tamoor Hussain, Rasheed Abueideh and People Make Games‘ Chris Bratt have got you covered in the video below.
The video is somehow age restricted, but I promise you that all the footage has been sanitized.
In the video, Rami, Tamoor and Rasheed give vital context to the situation, and are asking the game dev community to use its combined platform to create more awareness.
I hope that you do.
Together we might be able to prevent further needless killing.
#CeasefireNow, and yeah, #FreePalestine.
With love,
Martijn