Mo Salah, Bono and how language became the spearhead of a genocide

“If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.” These words were published on Anas Al-Sharif’s X account after his death. Sharif was a journalist with Al Jazeera and he was killed by Israel while in a tent for journalists outside a hospital in Gaza.The headlines said that ‘global outrage’ was mounting over the killing of Sharif and six others, but what does that mean?How is that outrage has become so pointless, lacking as it does nothing but the weasel words of support from western governments?On Free State today, Dion and Joe ask if words can help at this point? They look at the post on X from Mo Salah and the impact it had and they consider the statements from Bono and U2.Why does one have the power to make a difference and the other does nothing except salve the conscience of a rock star activist who has stayed silent for too long?Why do the words of Anas Al-Sharif haunt us and the words from Bono remind us of how the west has failed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They will never try to sell you a penis scented candle. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.