389. Finding Hope and Community when Everything Is Broken – Abubaker Abed

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack You asked us to look closer at the Trade Union movement in Ireland, so consider this an opening conversation with two Union stalwarts, Scott Miller and Paddy Cole, who are also two of the main organisers of the Tressell Festival. Some mild disagreements. Talk soon again, lads. Limited tickets:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-robert-tressell-festival-2025-tickets-1270717663739 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641 The Abubaker Abed podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129356565

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this podcast we are joined from Gaza by teacher, storyteller and mother, Banyas Abu Harab, who focuses on educating, comforting and inspiring young learners in Gaza, even as the bomb blasts are audible above her voice. This is a very different insight into the reality of the ongoing Genocide in Gaza. Thank you, Banyas Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641 The Abubaker Abed podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129356565 English Translation of the story Banyas tells in Arabic below The Woodcutter and the Three Wishes Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a poor woodcutter. Every day, he went into the forest to cut wood. He sold the wood to people in the village, just so he could feed his children at the end of the day. One afternoon, while he was chopping wood, he suddenly heard a loud, strange noise. He stopped, looked around, and saw a big, glowing blue light. He didn’t know what it was, and he thought maybe it was going to rain. Then, out of nowhere, he heard a deep, scary voice: “Ask for anything you wish—I will give you three wishes!” The woodcutter was surprised, but he quickly made his first wish. “I want food for my children,” he said. And just like that, a table full of delicious food appeared! For his second wish, he said, “I want lots of money!” The genie brought him piles of gold and coins. For his third wish, the woodcutter said, “I want a big house for my family.” In the blink of an eye, a beautiful, large house stood in front of him. The woodcutter ran home happily and told his children the whole story. But his children didn’t believe him. He took them to the forest to show them the genie—but the genie was gone. The woodcutter felt sad that his children didn’t see the magic. Still, they all went back to their new home, ate the delicious food, and were very happy. But as time passed, they spent all the money. Soon, it was all gone, and the family became poor again. The woodcutter went back to the forest to look for the genie and ask for more money—but the genie was nowhere to be found. That day, the woodcutter learned a very important lesson: Instead of asking for money, he should have wished for a good job, something that could help him earn and care for his family for a long time. And that’s why we should never depend on magic or other people’s money. We should work hard, believe in ourselves, and build our future with our own hands. The woodcutter was kind—but he had been a little greedy. Next time, he would make wiser choices—not just for himself, but for his children too.

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this extraordinary podcast, Prof Richard Murphy pulls no punches in addressing Keir Starmer's recent speech on migration and the so-called "island of strangers." He outlines how these new policy positions are also contrary to the Labour promise that Growth will underpin all of their actions in government. He also discusses the major flaws in First Past the Post relative to Proportional Representation. The Lexi Alexander podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129134515 The Tressell Festival pod is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129099555 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack "Ireland, once a proud republic of ideas and insurgents, now resembles a serfdom for supranational capital. It is time – long past time – for a reckoning. The question is not whether this gilded scaffolding will crumble. It is whether we will have the courage to build something real in its place." Business Post editorial May 2025 That's not a paragraph we expected to read from the SBP, so we had to dig into what was behind it. Joining us to do so is one of the authors of the Tax Mirage report, UCD Professor, Aidan Regan, and he breaks it down brilliantly. Don't miss this episode. Read the report here:https://democracychallenged.com/2025/05/07/irelands-1-trillion-mirage-how-a-nation-became-a-vault-for-global-profits/ Prof Richard Murphy on Keir Starmer - "Keir Starmer came out as a full-on racist" interview out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129009639 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702

Dr. Akram Habeeb is a professor of English at the Islamic University of Gaza. He taught and inspired many academics including Dr. Refaat Alareer. He left Gaza after 45 days of displacement in Rafah, where he did his best to care for his family. In this episode, he talks about his special relationship with Refaat Alareer, education and his own experience of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He also shares a wonderful poem that you should stay tuned for. We want to express our condolences to Tony and his family on their loss. The Brendan Ogle Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-128733772 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702