Letter from the Editor
Below is a letter from the editor to accompany the special issue “Homeland.”
As a child born in the South in the middle of 1999, a lot of my early memories are woven with a deep sense of pride in my country and the resilience it has shown in the face of adversity. After all, I grew up only knowing the United States after the events of September 11, 2001. There is already an innate desire to support your country, even more so when growing up in the Deep South, but it is only when you get older that you realize things are not as beautiful and pristine as others would make it seem. The history of the United States is gilded in classrooms and in casual conversations in day-to-day interactions, barely covering the blood-soaked atrocities committed for the sake of “freedom” and “democracy.”
It was not until my early twenties when I was in college that I was finally able to broaden my understanding of world history. One class that stuck with me was the final class of my history minor—the one that was only taught every four years due to its severe nature: Comparative Genocide. We read about the Belgian Congo, the Herero and Nama and the impact of colonialism in Africa, Armenia, The Holocaust, Rwanda, the Soviet attack on the kulaks, Bangladesh, East Timor, Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, Guatemala, Yugoslavia, and Myanmar (though my professor made it very clear that these were only the ones we could cover in class with the limited time we had). It was because of my time in this class that I was able to recognize the early signs of genocide in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
To fully delve into the history of this we would need to discuss self-determination, have a brief theology lesson, define colonization and Zionism, and cover over a hundred years of ongoing tensions and war. If you have been keeping an eye on the news for the past (almost) two years, you may already understand a lot of this. However, one thing that escapes the thoughts of most people, or something that many people may not fully understand, is that genocide is happening in Palestine.
The United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect defines genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily harm or mental harm to members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
While many world leaders have shied away from using the term “genocide” to describe what is currently happening in Gaza, being faced with the official definition paints a clear picture. To cover some indisputable facts: (1) Palestine does not have a standing military; (2) Israel has caused serious bodily and mental harm to Palestinians; and (3) Israel has caused mass forced-displacement, denied life-saving aid, and has orchestrated such large-scale destruction across Gaza that large swaths of land have been reduced to rubble. All these things can be seen in various reports, photographs, and eyewitness accounts that have spread across the internet since October 7, 2023, even with the fact that over 200 journalists have been killed in Palestine over the last two years.
On Friday, August 22, 2025, famine was officially declared in Gaza. This comes after over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed (18,500 of which were children), over 123,000 Palestinians have been injured, tens of thousands are still believed to be missing or buried under rubble, and nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed. Still, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has not officially declared what is happening as genocide.
It is difficult to stand back and watch the country I was raised to love unconditionally willfully send support and arms to the country that is actively committing such atrocities. It is frustrating to watch leaders dance around the eight-letter word when the United Nations has a whole office dedicated to its “prevention.” And it is near enraging to have a former U.S. soldier look me in the eye and repeatedly say, “It’s not a genocide,” while I ask him to define the term. Despite all of it, one thing remains the same: ignoring the facts does not change the truth.
There is a genocide in Gaza.
The Gaza Genocide has been ongoing for 1 year, 11 months, and 1 week as of the time of this publication.
As a result of the anger and frustration that I have been feeling, the idea for “Homeland” was born. The reach that Livina Press has is not big, but I have been looking for ways to use this platform to help others and hopefully keep the public talking about the reality of what is happening in Gaza. Some of the avenues of resistance when it comes to pushing back against the oppressor is sharing information and getting resources to those in need. As such, all proceeds for this issue will go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
With so much hate, violence, death, and destruction in the world, I wanted to give others an outlet to express their thoughts and feelings while also supporting a very important cause. The use of “Homeland” for this issue is multifaceted. It can be a reflection on belonging or the feeling of when “home” is taken away. It can also be used to express the frustration and feeling of betrayal from others within your homeland.
Inside this issue you will find works from people from across the world sharing their personal experiences, thoughts, and laying their emotions bare. Everyone has their own take on “homeland” and what it means to them–a person, a place, a feeling. It is an honor to share it all with you.
Sincerely,
Laci F. Hector
Founder, Editor-in-Chief