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2026-07-14 02:56:19 UTC

Satoru Hasegawa on Nostr: [@Epic_Null]( ) J 🏴‍☠️🦁 Hello. I found yesterday's discussion about the ...

[@Epic_Null](https://infosec.exchange/@Epic_Null )

Hello.
I found yesterday's discussion about the pros and cons of donating to individuals in Gaza versus donating to various organizations very interesting.
Let me make it clear from the outset that I disagree with both of you and agree with Aral
However, I tagged your accounts not to condemn you, but because I wanted you to know my perspective.
Perhaps my viewpoint is different from what you've offered before, and therefore may provide you with a new approach to things.
To summarize your arguments:
1. The identity verification of people in Gaza is uncertain.
2. There is a risk that the funds will fall into the hands of fraudsters.
3. Donating to officially operating organizations ensures that the funds are used more reliably, efficiently, and effectively, ultimately benefiting the Palestinian people.

These arguments are rational in themselves. However, the concepts of efficiency and reliability are, so to speak, business-related, and moreover, business in a soundly functioning society. Your stance is, so to speak, based on sound capitalism.
However, the reality we face in Palestine falls far outside the realm where these concepts apply. Rather, the entire set of codes—efficiency, reliability, and the rules that must be followed on social media—is part of our Western world, and it is this Western world that is trampling on the Palestinian people. Therefore, we need to relativize and question these values ​​to which we adhere.

First, the people in Gaza who are registered on Mastodon are not businessmen looking to raise funds. They certainly want money. But, on a more fundamental level, what they want is life and dignity. While this is a minor point from this perspective, I would like to add that organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and World Central Kitchen are currently facing extreme restrictions on their activities or have been shut down due to Israeli pressure. Therefore, donations here are a lifeline for the people of Gaza. It is extremely inappropriate to interpret this using legal or business terms such as "reliability" or "efficiency."
The premise that must be accepted is that it is impossible to save the people of Gaza with existing social infrastructure. No matter how carefully you control how you spend your money and how satisfyingly you may feel by donating to the Red Crescent, it will not change the world.
What is important is to listen to the voices of the people of Gaza. In the thread of the exchange between Aral and you, there are posts from several people from Gaza:
AsarSameer🍉

🇵🇸 em mohamed 🍉

Lina 🍉om Sham

Layan🍉ayoub🇵🇸

Please go to their profile pages and read what they usually post. Certainly, these people are asking for money. However, you will see that it is more than that.
You are only focused on the perspective of being the one providing the money, but social media is about mutual communication. The people of Gaza bring us their daily situations and tell us what it is like to live in Gaza more quickly and sharply than Al Jazeera or CNN news. This is extremely valuable information that cannot be obtained simply by donating to the Red Crescent. However, this is not merely news or information. We have an obligation to respond to the voices of these people in Gaza. This is the function of social media, which is essential for solidarity.

However, responding to their voices can sometimes be a great emotional burden. Responding to the voices of individuals pleading for help in desperate situations is entirely different from politely expressing solidarity with the "Palestinian issue." It is, fundamentally, responding to questions that are impossible to answer, and it is beyond our emotional control.

Perhaps your hesitation to donate to individuals, based on various justifications, may be an unconscious avoidance of this obligation to respond.

However, from my own experience, speaking directly with the people of Gaza, and learning about their nobility, kindness, and resilience, is an invaluable and irreplaceable experience.

Finally, there is the problem of the difficulty in verifying the identities of the people of Gaza. Certainly, the verification method used by GazaVerified, led by Mr. Aral, is not "official." It doesn't allow for absolute proof, either legally or scientifically.
But what is the reality we live in? It's not a single certificate or a single scientific photograph. These two are snapshots of a single moment, but our reality lies in something else entirely: duration, in time.
When I first started supporting the people of Gaza, I was cautious, focusing only on those verified by GazaVerified. However, there are people on Mastodon who aren't verified, and others who are waiting to be verified. Recently, I've been looking through their posts, and if I feel that their unique life story is truly imprinted there, I've decided to trust them.
What does it mean to live? Does it mean constantly seeking certificates for everything you encounter? Surely not. It means trusting your experience and your eyes, and acting based on them.
This also applies to how I view GazaVerified.
This organization certainly does not have any endorsements from a third-party organization.
It operates independently. (And I love that.)
However, from the philosophy and methods presented on their website, the profiles of the Gazan people registered there, Aral's background, and his regular posts, you can make a reasonable judgment about whether this organization is trustworthy or a scam. Of course, this judgment is neither legal nor scientific, that are momental snapshots of the reality. But it is a judgment made in the context of our ongoing reality, of our lives, that have their own pasts, presents. and futures.
You don't have the time? Then you must be engrossed in something much more worthwhile that you dedicate your time to. May your work make the world a better place!

What if there was one fraud among the 100 Palestinians I'm helping?
My answer is, "I don't care."
Would I stop supporting the other 99 Palestinians because of suspicion about that one person? It's impossible. I doubt how much my modest assistance actually helps these people, but my life has become far more worthwhile through solidarity with them.
Besides, I don't hate the poor swindlers who make a living by raking in small amounts of money. I hate the big swindlers like Trump, Netanyahu, and the Western politicians and corporations who cooperate with them.
I'm not rich, so I can only manage to donate $10 each to a few Palestinians each month. Even such a small amount makes them very happy, and they tell me, "Your donation is more than money." At the very least, it encourages one person.
Is donating to individuals less efficient than donating to organizations? Efficiency? Feed that to the dogs. The same goes for trustworthy system. Feed that to the pigs.
What matters is solidarity. That's the only effective way to fight against this corrupt world.
Thank you for listening.
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