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The Journalist

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— 23 October 2025 — “Journalists have been viciously targeted with the intent to prevent truth-telling... But no amount of blackout curtains in a room can prevent the sun from shining outside.” [Data from Al Jazeera | Infographic by Shivani Chaudhry]  I wrote a short fictionalized piece—titled  The Journalist —in August 2022 as a tribute to Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist, who was brutally murdered by Israeli forces on 11 May 2022 in Jenin in the West Bank.  Today, I am posting it here to honour and mourn the over 270 Palestinian journalists and media workers killed by Israel since 7 October 2023 (according to Al Jazeera). Journalists have been viciously targeted with the intent to prevent truth-telling, to hide the horrific reality of the genocide from the world. But no amount of blackout curtains in a room can prevent the sun from shining outside. Nothing, nothing, can conceal the truth. It will shine through all the propaganda and lies, and...
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Pressing Life's 'Pause' Button More Than 'Play'

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— Published by THE WIRE on 15 March 2025 — "Covid became capitalism’s great disruption, so they propagated the myth of its ‘mildness’ while trying to suppress science and dismiss data… They minimized Long Covid and victimized patients, as we’re the counter evidence to their falsehoods." Pressing the 'Pause' Button More Than 'Play':  Living with Long Covid   ~ Shivani Chaudhry ~ Four hundred million people  affected globally. Over 200 documented symptoms. No approved cure. Widespread ignorance, even among medical practitioners. Millions unable to work  and provide for themselves. Negligible medical, monetary, and social support. An estimated annual economic impact of US$ 1 trillion . On the fifth anniversary of the Covid pandemic, this is the grim reality of Long Covid , a complex, disabling, chronic illness, afflicting 10–30% of Covid-infected people. Annually, March 15 is observed now as International Long Covid Aw...
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Martyred Children of Gaza

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— 1 February 2025 — “tell us... the colour of their souls ... the ethnicity  of a grieving mother’s tears ” [Data from Al Jazeera | Infographic by Shivani Chaudhry] MARTYRED CHILDREN OF GAZA   ~ Shivani Chaudhry ~ Smiles that embraced every heart Eyes beaming light on dreary days Hands moulding miracles of love Songs that lifted kites of hope Hugs that healed every hurt   Now, a haunting soul-stripping void Scattered shards of severed childhood School books decaying under the debris Their tender writing inscripting the earth with a million unlived dreams   Their untold stories enflame evening skies Shaping clouds with the cumulus of innocence Desolate winds hold their unspoken words Drifting above this deathful dystopia Aching to hear those guiltless giggles again   The children’s souls will carry Every cry for freedom, from river to sea While we lie on sombre shores Singing ballads of pain to quell the  Insoluble agony of endless nights   Now look int...
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For Those *Still* Silent on the Gaza Genocide

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—  18 December 2024  —   “ How would you feel if you knew the world was watching your extermination  but chose to pretend it wasn ’ t happening?  ” FOR THOSE *STILL* SILENT ON THE GAZA GENOCIDE ~ Shivani Chaudhry ~ If you could lose your job for speaking out against genocide, then it may not be a place worth working at. If you worry what  ‘ others ’  will say if you stand against genocide, then those  ‘ others ’  need to be ignored. If you feel a genocide occurring in another country doesn ’ t concern you, you ’ re wrong. It does. Genocide affects each one of us; it violates every principle of life, of humanity, of humanness, and of morality.  Genocide anywhere is a threat to humanity everywhere . What if your land, your home, your community, your city were being annihilated? What if those being massacred were your children, your parents, your grandparents, your siblings, your friends? What if your children ’ s limbs had to b...
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Fading Drumbeats of Dissent

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— Published by THE HINDU, SUNDAY MAGAZINE on 29 August 2004  — “The sound of resistance is not even a whisper in the mainstream…  Political art is essentially a mode of activist communication. By infusing subversive stimulation into the public arena, it provides inspiration to create a cultural battlefield.” [sc Fading Drumbeats of Dissent ~ Shivani Chaudhry ~ “And while you swallow every image they present / We ’ ll sing the songs to fan the flames of discontent.”  ~ Refused (a Swedish band) The culture of resistance is a critical component of democracy, of a liberal society, of a progressive polity. Without resistance there is no change. Without change there is no hope.   Art is, and has been, an effective means of resistance. A vibrant culture of resistance reflects the moral, political, social ethic of a nation. It is the pulse of a society with a conscience. It is the inspiration of a people that dream. It is art in its truest form. To separate art from politics...
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