Known for her vocal opinions about Palestine and against discrimination against Muslims, Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid has done it again. As celebrities speak out against the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Hadid reminded people that all oppression deserves the same level of retaliation.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” the model captioned a screenshot of a note she posted on her Instagram. “Question yourself, question how quietly you moved around other injustices, the footprint we leave here will be the clearest one we have left in a long time,” the model said talking about the impact we have.
“If this is your first time realizing a war in some years, you’re not of the world.” She said war, along with the position we take during it, is forever. The model said we should always speak up when we feel encouraged to, but she believes the most transformative speech comes from discomfort, “when air has to break to make room for your voice”.
Hadid said that if the American president is defending a liberation movement, there’s no risk in joining that defense. “There’s little glory in joining a warmonger to point at another warmonger.”
She talked about Ukraine saying “nothing should undermine the magnitude of their suffering, of the violence against them” but it is not just about justice. It is also about who is at the receiving end of injustice. She highlighted that “the way we have failed to uphold it elsewhere dictates this. Our lack of tools here is a result of our neglect elsewhere.”
On favoring one victim over another
Hadid said that the language we use to define oppression “cannot favor one victim over another”. She picked on a point that has been circulating on social media ever since the conflict in Ukraine started — how many such conflicts have been ongoing for decades in Muslim nations but they get no attention.
“How many Muslim nations aflame? Invasions by the west, merciless drone strikes, executions, internment camps in China? How much of Palestine, how little of Palestine left?” the model asked.
It may be recalled that Hadid said in 2017 that she identifies as a “proud Muslim”. She made sure to stand up for her “Muslim sisters”. She has been very vocal about Islamophobia and the rights of Palestinians as well. She and her sister Gigi posted about Palestinian oppression and condemned silence on attacks in Palestine.
Explainer: Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine & What Does Putin Want?
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