Farewell

Friends,

I’m afraid I must be the bearer of some unfortunate news. As a select few of some of my closest and most dear friends on this site already know, I have been in an on-and-off struggle with leukaemia for more than a year now. Today, I regret to inform you that this struggle is coming to an end in the near future with me as the loser. As hapless as this is, please know I have no regrets - while short, my life has been more fulfilling than I'd ever imagined, and I will leave doing what I always dreamed of, that being the beautiful and noble profession of medicine.

To that end, I want to draw everyone's attention to the ongoing genocide in Palestine, perpetrated by the Zionist regime of their neighbouring oppressors. I am currently working with humanitarian aid groups on the Rafah border in Egypt, and the things I have seen on tape and experienced first-hand are nothing short of repulsive breaches of global humanitarian laws. I am talking about children dying with their guts spilling out of their abdomen, mothers giving birth to their babies without anaesthesia and both not living to tell the tale, premature foetuses dying and rotting en masse in incubators, civilians, journalists and humanitarian aid workers being targeted, tortured, and executed in broad daylight.

We are working tirelessly to help the people that are fortunate enough to be allowed to cross the Rafah border into Egypt, and endanger ourselves daily by sending convoys to Gaza. More than a dozen of our brave volunteers have been murdered in cold blood for the noble cause of limiting civilian casualties and upholding some semblance of the humanitarian laws that were established by the very governments that are now either in full support of breaching them or standing by in silence.

This is a humanitarian crisis, and thus, I appeal to your humanity.

Do not stand by in silence while the brave, innocent civilians in Gaza and West Bank are being erased out of the history books.
Do not celebrate a Christmas void of empathy, while Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is being raided as I write.
Do not light up fireworks on New Year's Eve void of tact, while Palestinians are being massacred by explosives.

If you can spare some funds, please send them along to humanitarian aid groups so that we can continue our cause. Boycott organizations and entities that are funding this atrocity. And if nothing else is within your powers, save a daily prayer or two for the innocent Palestinian, Israeli, and Lebanese civilians caught up in this wicked crossfire.

Tomorrow morning, I am entering Palestinian territory as part of a humanitarian convoy. I have said my goodbyes to my family and friends back home, and would like to take this opportunity to do the same here. I count myself fortunate to have made many, many friends on this site, all of whom have brought me immense joy. To you I express a sincere thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I also know there are Palestinian, Israeli, and Lebanese people on this very site that are vehemently opposed to this genocide, yet find themselves having to endure the repercussions of a corrupt, fascist government. Please know you are one of the bravest people in the history of this wretched planet. Remain firm in your faith.

To Senior Staff and moderators, I would like to stress the following: exercise the utmost empathy for these brave people. Do not repeat the rash decisions that brought about the injustice around Sabelette's demotion. Moreover, do not close down discussions on this important topic with the excuse of 'people cannot behave themselves', like you have done in the Congregation of the Masses subforum. This is a heavy topic, and people are bound to be opinionated and angry. Do your job as moderators by deleting egregious posts, but do not take away the platform to discuss entirely, and thereby, mirroring the fascist entities that are doing the same all over the world.

History will judge you.

From the river to the sea ~

Farewell
Ray was an exemplary human being and his empathy truly knew no bounds. He would go out of his way to help out anyone in need in every way possible and would always deny the credit. I was on the receiving end of his kindness on many occasions.

One such instance was during the later stages of the Covid-19 crisis. We were both working at a clinic when my grandfather contracted the virus. I wanted to visit him, but he lived too far away for me to simply swing by over the weekend and I'd already taken my paid leave earlier in the year. I couldn't afford to take an unpaid leave either. When I told Ray about the situation, he said he'd take care of it and urged me on to visit my grandfather. I didn't know what he meant at the time, but I assumed he would talk with our supervisor to see if I could get another week of paid leave. I was sceptical since I'd tried the same with no luck, but to my surprise I got two weeks off.

It wasn't until much later when I found out the lengths Ray had gone to. He had offered to double his working hours and work a 14-hour shift for two weeks, so that he could gift half his salary back to the clinic for my paid leave. He never told me anything. The way I found out was through an offhand comment made by my supervisor months later. I wanted to pay Ray back, but every time I would bring the matter up, he would shut it down immediately.

That is the kind of person Ray was. He gave without expecting anything in return, and he gave generously. He remained this way up until he took his dying breath.

According to his colleagues in Egypt, Ray was shot by the IDF while carrying children to safety. He kept on walking up until he reached a safe point where he could hand over the children. At that point, he had lost too much blood. His last request was to not waste any painkillers on him.

I have never met a person as profoundly good as Ray. I don't think I ever will. His death left a gap in my soul I will always carry with sorrow and pride.

Be with the angels Ray

Your grieving friend, Alex