Canadian poet Rupi Kaur has declined an invitation from the White House to attend a Diwali event for the Biden administration’s support to “collective punishment of a trapped civilian population”.
“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 in a statement posted on X.
American President Joe Biden has repeatedly backed Israel in the relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip that has killed over 10,000 people in less than a month.
The illustrator with a Sikh background stated that the US government’s stance on Palestine and Israel is against the tradition of Diwali which is “the celebration of righteousness over falsehood and knowledge over ignorance”.
“Today, the American government is not only funding the bombardment of Gaza, they continue to justify this genocide against Palestinians- regardless of how many refugee camps, health facilities, and places of worship are blown to bits.”
Kaur has in the past come out in support of various causes including the farmers’ protest in India.
“I implore my South Asian community to hold this administration accountable. As a Sikh woman, I will not allow my likeness to be used in whitewashing this administration’s actions. I refuse any invitation from an institution that supports the collective punishment of a trapped civilian population -50% of whom are children.”
Kaur urged that, 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. Many of my contemporaries have told me in private that what’s happening in Gaza is awful, but they aren’t going to risk their livelihood or “a chance at creating change from the inside”. There is no magical change that will happen from being on the inside. We must be brave. We must not be tokenized by their photo-ops. The privilege we lose from speaking up is nothing compared to what Palestinians lose each day because this administration rejects a ceasefire.”
