Democracy is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. The absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges. Democracies are also identified by their freedom of press and therefore the idea that the ruling party, as well as the opposition, are held to account by journalists and the judiciary, as both these organisations stand independently to the government. This independence and scrutiny is a cornerstone of the constitution according to law makers. Those paying attention have known for decades that our democracy has been in decline, and under this latest Conservative government it is lip-service at best. Sixty-nine days into the genocide of Gaza, and many more people, including myself, have become aware of exactly how undemocratic our systems really are.

One of the first indicators of the decline of our democracy for me was the introduction of PREVENT in 2015. Draconian legislation such as enhanced powers to police and security services was part of the national response to the September 11th attacks in New York in both the UK and USA, and since then the situation has only been in decline. Under the guise of anti-terrorism, governments across the global North, who on the one hand wage wars to spread democracy, have been tightening the noose of freedom at home. From freedom of speech to freedom of dress, Muslim communities have been consistently targeted, vilified by the media and criminalised by the law. The attack on Muslims women’s hijab has seen Europe outed as fascist and Islamophobic, unable to comprehend that women from a whole spectrum of backgrounds, including white European, choose to wear hijab. Apparently, women can only choose to undress themselves, covering their bodies needs to be legislated!

Anti-terror laws are designed to stifle freedoms and give more power to authorities, though history shows that draconian laws never work and ultimately do more harm than good, reactionary policies are the go-to of liberal democracies. From detention without charge, extraordinary rendition, to policing and banning organisations, we have seen anti-terror laws used to suppress protests and shut down debate on various topics. They disproportionately harm and target the Muslim community whilst overlooking mirrored experiences in other groups i.e. hate speech from the far right and Islamophobia.

The hypocrisy of liberalism has been laid bare for all to see during the genocidal campaign in Gaza. Palestinians have bravely and relentlessly exposed the double-standards of liberal democracies in the global north through social media, that even the most ardent supporters of apartheid are finding difficult to defend. What exactly do liberal democracies stand for if they find it difficult to speak out against a genocide? In the UK, Suella Braverman, who was sacked in November as the Home Secretary, continuously spoke about “British Values” and “Culture Wars” yet was unable to define these “values” in any significant way other than anti-Islam. Individualism is the beating heart of liberal ideology, as John Stuart Mills says: “over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” only this individualism doesn’t extend to all people. According to Mills “Despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be their improvement.” it will surprise no one that this great English philosopher and political economist was also a imperialist who championed colonialism, especially in India (incidentally Suella, also holds these pro-imperialist views!). In the past two decades we have seen the exportation of “freedom and democracy” in the form of wars on terror, yet where are these values today in Palestine?

Whatever we feel about Hamas, they were a legitimately elected government in free and fair elections, that were internationally monitored. America elected Donald Trump, who was deeply problematic on so many levels but his rhetoric around building a border between America and Mexico and his “Muslim ban” were particularly xenophobic. Europe is increasingly sliding to the right, Giorgia Meloni, whose party has neofascist roots, is prime minister of Italy, in the recent Dutch elections, far-right anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders won a decisive victory and Finland and Greece have also elected extremist parties. America has been actively involved in removing popular, democratically elected representatives across the global south, most recently Imran Khan in Pakistan and probably most notoriously in 2013 when they aided General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi. The West can turn a blind eye to its own fascism and extremism, can support settler colonialism and is currently funding a genocide. Yet when countries democratically vote for leaders they disapprove of, particularly in Muslim lands, they swoop in and derail the processes they claim to hold sacred. Its hard to overlook these stark realities, especially as we can see it livestreamed in the palms of our hands.

The past four years have been equally horrifying and enlightening. The election of Donald Trump. Covid, Black Lives Matter and the War in Ukraine brought to the surface so many of the deep divides we had all brushed under our collective carpets. Covid exposed how deeply reliant our societies are on black and brown people yet how vulnerable they are in a society that essentially deems them replaceable. Our healthcare system would have shut down if it wasn’t for migrant workers working as everything from cleaners to surgeons. Yet health statistics showed that these people were also the most impacted by COVID. In America the murder of George Floyd by a  Minneapolis police officer sparked worldwide protests in 2020. Floyd, who was pinned under the knee of a police officer for nine minutes and 29 seconds, highlighted police brutality and violence against black people in America. The same violence that has been experienced by people in Palestine. Since the early 2000s, thousands of U.S. police officers, sheriffs, border patrol agents, ICE officers and FBI agents have trained with Israeli military and police forces. These exchanges reinforce American law enforcement practices of expanding surveillance, justifying racial profiling and suppressing public protests through use of force. In January 2021, a mob of white Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. More than 2,000 people entered the Capitol building, smashing windows, ransacking offices, defecating in public spaces and searching for members of Congress. Can you even imagine if this mob had been formed of black people or Muslims and how differently that day would have looked and been reported?

Earlier this year Shamima Begum lost her appeal against the British government’s decision to remove her British citizenship and therefore is unable to return to the UK. Whatever you might think of her and her actions, it is widely accepted that she was groomed online and trafficked into Syria by a Canadian “intelligence asset” at the age of 15. Before October we were making the hypothetical argument that the outcome would be different had she been white. Now we clearly see British citizens going to occupied Palestine and filming themselves fighting alongside the occupation forces on occupied  territories. Not only is it a crime under British law for a British nationals to serve in a foreign army under the ‘Foreign Enlistment Act 1870’ it is also against article 4 of the Geneve convention: Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Civilians are to be protected from murder, torture or brutality, and from discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, religion or political opinion. Liz Truss, as the UK Foreign Secretary in February 2022 was criticised for backing Britons who wish to fight in Ukraine, she told BBC Ones Sunday Morning programme: “That is something people can make their own decisions about. The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe. Absolutely, if people want to support that struggle, I would support them in doing that.” It seems crazy to even have to highlight these parallels, as most Human Rights groups agree that Shamima was a child who was groomed, yet here we are with another inconsistency of liberal democracy and its betrayal of Muslims.

In March 2021 the Media Reform Coalition published a disturbing report on media ownership in the UK. The report showed that 3 companies owned 90% of the national newspaper market. The digital landscape was dominated by Meta “which controls three of the top five social media services used to access online news in the UK while traditional news organisations account for 48% of Facebook users’ news sources, expanding the online market reach of a few already-dominant publishing companies“. The report goes on to conclude: “We believe that concentration in news and information markets in particular has reached endemic levels in the UK and that we urgently need effective remedies. Concentrated ownership creates conditions in which wealthy individuals and organisations can amass vast political and economic power and distort the media landscape to suit their interests. Urgent action is needed in order both to address high levels of concentration in particular media markets and to protect against further concentration in others.” It’s a long running joke in the corridors of power that Murdoch picks the PM, but in light of this stark and worrying revelation, who is really laughing? The Chairman of the BBC is selected by the Government, so the web of deception, this fallacy of democracy, is left almost entirely unchallenged. If it wasn’t for social media ( who are also part of the establishment and regularly try to shadow-ban and censor pro-Palestinian content) and Palestinians filming the death and destruction around them, the white phosphorous bombs and indiscriminate bombings of hospitals, schools and residential buildings, (all illegal under international law) we would have been reliant on these sources for our news. This lack of press freedom and it entire control of the narrative we are fed is profoundly disturbing. These companies, headed by billionaires, are not interested in protecting the masses or even educating them. It’s incredibly dystopian to think of what other interests they invest in and how they have collaboratively manipulated and distorted the narrative on so many national and international stories.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. People of the world are waking up from the consumerism drug we have been placated with for over the last 30+ years. We have been distracted, because capitalism demands that we keep working and keep spending and thinking only about ourselves or indoctrinated, as we have been inundated with negative news stories, encouraging us to be consistently vigilant and forever suspicious of everyone around us. However in the last two months we have seen a genocide in Palestine, one that our government is complicit in. We have been awoken from our slumber and forced into community and activism because we are witnesses to the truth and we can’t remain silent any longer. Yes, liberal democracy turned out to be a lie and there is nothing free about our press, but change always comes from the grassroots, from people who refuse to look away. Communities should be built from the bottom up, and this is our opportunity to rise together for a freer and fairer tomorrow.

It’s Free Palestine until Palestine is free.