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Poet Rupi Kaur rejects White House Diwali invite
The famed poet has urged her followers to attend protests and join boycotts that are being held in support of a ceasefire
Rupi Kaur / Facebook
Finding the Biden administration’s response to the goings on in the Gaza unacceptable and asking other South Asians to speak up on the rising civilian toll in the Gaza offensives, Punjab-born Canadian poet Rupi Kaur has turned down an invitation to celebrate Diwali at the White House.
The event which is to be celebrated on November 8 is hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I’m surprised this administration finds it acceptable to celebrate Diwali, when their support of the current atrocities against Palestinians represent the exact opposite of what this holiday means to many of us”, Kaur wrote on a social media post which has been widely cited in the American media. “I refuse any invitation from an institution that supports the collective punishment of a trapped population”, she added.
What has outraged many in the international community is that while the Biden administration has been urging for a “pause” so that aid and humanitarian assistance can reach Gaza, it has not explicitly called for a ceasefire even as the civilian death toll has reached 10,000 and continues to rise by the day.
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are without food, water, electricity and fuel and United Nations agencies have maintained that among the worst affected are people in hospitals, children who are killed every day, pregnant women and nursing mothers.
"As a community, we cannot remain silent or agreeable just to get a seat at the table. It comes at too high a cost to human life. The privilege we lose from speaking up is nothing compared to what Palestinians lose each day because this administration rejects a ceasefire", Kaur said.
The famed poet has urged her followers to attend protests and join boycotts that are being held in support of a ceasefire. “When a government’s actions dehumanise people anywhere in the world, it is our moral imperative to call for justice”, Kaur has said.
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