THE FULL STORY

by Christian Vezjak

This week , as Jordan air-dropped supplies in Gaza, writer Christian Vezjak, reflects on the use of air-dropping food to civilians in conflict zones. As of this week, only five instances of air-dropping crucial supplies in Gaza have been recorded.

My dad once told me a story of very brave men helping people in dire need. I was about 10 years old and I remember the story perfectly.

Raisins were falling from the skies, my dad said.

He further explained that right after WW2, the Soviet Union besieged West Berlin leaving millions of Berlin civilians at the brink of starvation.

What did the brave men do to help? I wondered.

They launched a daring operation to airlift supplies and drop them into the besieged city, he said.

Crazy, dad! I said. Tell me more!!!

What about the raisins?

Among the cargo, he said, were small packages of raisins, dropped from the skies as symbols of hope and solidarity for the grateful citizens below. Raisins for the children.

This story resonates deeply with many Germans and Westerners alike as the Allies tried everything to support German civilians in 1948 when Soviet forces besieged Allied-controlled areas in West Berlin following World War II. The blockade put over 2 million German civilian lives at risk. In response, the Allies initiated the Berlin Airlift (or Berliner Luftbrücke), delivering essential supplies (200 thousand tons) via 278,228 flights or about 20 thousand flights per month.

The mission came at huge human cost too, with the loss of around 100 American and British lives.

To this day the Berliner Luftbrücke captures the imaginations of German children and folk who called these airplanes Raisin-Bombers (Rosinenbombers). Passed down by my German father, this tale served me as a lesson in compassion and righteousness.

Fast forward to today and history repeats itself, but not really.

Around two million people are besieged and under a total blockade in Gaza.

Children, dizzy from hunger, face the looming threat of starvation.

Since January 2024, the Dutch, the French, and the Jordanians have been air-dropping much-needed supplies into Gaza as people suffer incredibly.

As of this writing less than 5 deliveries have been made.

When I read the news about these airdrops, I immediately remembered the day my dad told me about the Raising-Bombers.

I felt (again) a deep sense of betrayal.

No heroes sent by the international community to save Gazeans. No raisins for the children.

Just more betrayals and double standards.

There is something very wrong here.

And we are all getting quite tired of it.

We can’t be quiet. We can’t be complicit

#freepalestine #stopthecomplicity

PS: If you found yourself hesitating to support this post, perhaps because it felt too political or stirred a sense of dissonance within you, I encourage you to pause and reflect, dig deeper and ask yourself why.