I think about solidarity a lot. As a journalist, I believed my way of expressing solidarity with oppressed people, or of speaking against my own oppression was through the practise of journalism — by writing, by speaking truth to power. In principle, this still applies, but this moment calls for more. It requires action. I do not think we can practise business as usual and hope that it will be enough to affect change.

So what does courageous action look like? Reading about the activists and citizens of 44 different countries aboard the Sumud Freedom Flotilla, I’m reminded that heroism is in fact the courage of ordinary people, workers. This week, I cannot stop thinking about the dockworkers of Italy who promised to bring Europe to a standstill if the flotilla comes under attack or loses contact at sea. Despite the national policies and bureaucracy that strives to politicise and stifle workers’ movements, the dockworkers of Genoa have made their position clear for years: “We don’t work for war.” In 2019, these workers blocked a similar shipment for the same Saudi company, after discovering the declared civilian cargo was in fact weaponry.

Human stories and empathy alone will not change the world. This moment calls for direct action in the form of economic boycotts, strikes and and disrupting supply chains. It may not be enough, but it is a beginning. Courage is contagious.

Nishita Jha is a writer and illustrator based in London. Click here to subscribe to her weekly illustrated newsletter.

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