Have you ever wondered how to live a happy life? A peaceful life where you have the freedom to do anything? Palestine however, does not have that same luxury. Human rights is something that we all have, but Palestinians? Their human rights have been completely stripped away. A bloody red cloud of smoke erupts in the air as a battlefield full of dead bodies are seen beneath the smoke. With stakes of fear and despair planted into my heart, I scream for help, yet I was silenced. 

The echoes of gunshots and screams haunted me even in my dreams. A constant reminder of the horror that I witnessed. My brother, who dreams of becoming a doctor, vanished into thin air. He was one of the victims of thousands that died from the genocide! The smell of death clings to the air. 

How did it ever come to this? This massacre has been going on for decades, only terror and chaos were brought instilling fear into each Palestinians’ hearts. The shooting star in our night skies has now been feared as an attack missile aimed directly to brutally murder them. This genocide has led us to wonder “will it ever stop?”.

I walk trembling, shaking in fear as to being cautious about my moves. “Watch out, there are guns!” That phrase has been ringing in my mind for the past few months leaving me scared for my life. Even trying to survive a day has become a difficult challenge for Palestinians, their lives revolving around chaos, the genocide is all they can think about. They wake to the tremor of explosions, a chilling alarm clock in a world that has gone mad. Hunger rumbles at their stomach, a constant reminder in a city, where food is scarce and peace is a luxury.

Amidst the thunderous roar of guns and bullets and the choking smoke of burning buildings, a silent tragedy unfolds. It is the destruction of education in Palestine. Schools, once a place of learning and laughter, became battlegrounds or makeshift shelters. Textbooks lie scattered, their pages torn and filled with the dust of conflict. The precious right to education, a fundamental building block for a brighter future, was ruthlessly snatched away from millions of children.

Trying to connect to the outside world was very difficult, the internet has been cut off making it impossible to tell the world what is really happening in the country. Palestinians that are caught in the crossfire are stripped of the essentials for survival: food, water, electricity, shelter, and most tragically, the comfort and love of their families. If only they could see how Palestinians begged for mercy and pleaded for a ceasefire immediately, and how their voices got silenced. There were still journalists who found a way to tell the world what was going on in Palestine, yet they were killed for telling the truth.

The road to ending genocide is long and tormenting, but every step, every action, no matter how small or big it is, contributes to a peaceful tomorrow. We cannot claim ignorance when the information is readily available. Boycotting these brands isn't about denying ourselves a burger or a latte. It's a statement. It's a refusal to be complicit. It’s a way to stand in support with the victims, a way to say that silence is not an option.

The situation that Palestine is facing right now is truly heartbreaking. The least we could do is to spread awareness. To make our voices heard even in times where we are voiceless. Let us light up the torch of hope to those who are engulfed in dark times. 

The horrors of war may seem distant, a news headline on a screen. But the human cost: the families that are torn apart, the dreams shattered, the lives lost, it transcends between borders and cultures. No matter where you are, we all deserve to have a life where it does not revolve around terror and chaos. Let this be a call to action, a plea for empathy, and a reminder that even the smallest act of awareness can make a difference in the lives of those caught in the crossfire.