An
Odyssey For Justice: Resisting Zionists - A Bold Assertion
15 January 2010By Ramzy Baroud
The recent actions of people from around the world in
support of the Palestinian people in Gaza have
arguably represented the closest manifestation of
international solidarity since the International
Brigades against fascism during the Spanish Civil War.
A bold assertion?
Admittedly, I may not be as in tune with reality as I
should be. Born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp
where most refugees felt that no one cared about their
plight, it was easy to believe that nothing could
possibly break away from the ever tenuous and
redundant stances by Arab and other countries — whose
acts of solidarity went no further than hollow words
of condemnation. The recent noble stances by activists
from all over the world therefore seem like an
unprecedented act of solidarity which, dare I believe,
indicates the direct mass involvement of civil society
as a real party in the ongoing Palestinian struggle
for political and human rights.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when various
European powers were turning blind eye to the
atrocities committed in Spain, almost 40,000 men and
women, representing 52 countries, made the decision to
fight fascism. The global consciousness culminating in
such a direct, unprecedented action was absolutely
baffling considering the lack of powerful
communication technology available at the time.
"How pertinent these words are, as one reads with
anxiousness, pride and exhilaration the notes and
messages that have come in from Cairo, El Arish and
Gaza "The 2,800 American volunteers included a black
man — Canute Frankson — who was a member of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He wrote to a friend from
Madrid in 1937: “Why am I, a Negro who have fought
through these years for the rights of my people, here
in Spain today? Because we are no longer an isolated
minority group fighting hopelessly against an immense
giant. Because ... we have joined with, and become an
active part of, a great progressive force, on whose
shoulders rest the responsibility of saving human
civilization from the planned destruction of a small
group of degenerates ... Because if we crush fascism
here we’ll save our people in America, and in other
parts of the world from the vicious persecution,
wholesale imprisonment, and slaughter which the Jewish
people suffered and are suffering under Hitler’s
fascist heels.”
How pertinent these words are, as one reads with
anxiousness, pride and exhilaration the notes and
messages that have come in from Cairo, El Arish and
Gaza. They convey the support of countless people, who
have demonstrated with blood and tears their
commitment to humanity in Palestine, and indeed
everywhere.
The Gaza Freedom March, a coalition of several groups,
consisted of 1,362 activists from more than 40
countries who were on a mission to cross to Gaza and,
along with Israeli, Palestinian and international
peace activists, to march simultaneously to the
Israeli Erez checkpoint. That border point, along with
a few others, has completely cut off Palestinians in
Gaza from the outside world, leaving 1.5 million
people in a frightening state of siege. Gaza has been
embroiled in the world’s worst humanitarian
catastrophe for years due to the Palestinian people’s
exercise of their democratic rights. The people of
Gaza have endured one-sided wars, and have been left
to exist in a state of near starvation.
The valiant peace warriors of Viva Palestina have
truly set new standards for how far a peace and
justice activist is willing to go to back up his/her
words with actions. Many millions around the world
watched — despite the mainstream media’s shameless
disregard of the unfolding drama — as nearly 500
activists and their 200 vehicles, laden with badly
needed medical supplies for besieged Gaza, took off on
a historic odyssey to break the siege. Just as they
neared Gaza, they were forced by the Egyptian
government to backtrack due to a technicality, and
then began an arduous journey across the desert and
sea and several countries. And as they approached Gaza
again, in the Egyptian port of El Arish, they were
blocked and dozens were left injured.
The Gaza Freedom March was similarly met with
intimidation, assaults and violence.
These are not Palestinians, but internationals. From
Malaysia to South Africa, from the UK to the U.S.,
men, women, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, people of
different cultural and political backgrounds showed
themselves as unified in their belief in justice and
human rights. While Palestine has always enjoyed
universal solidarity, with many fearless activists —
who can forget Rachel Corrie? — a collective action of
this magnitude and of this level of commitment is a
new addition to a conflict that has been reduced over
time to that of beleaguered Palestinians and a
militarily powerful Israel.
The Gaza Freedom March, Viva Palestina, the Free Gaza
Movement, and others are redefining the conventional
discourse pertaining to the Middle East’s most
intricate and protracted conflict. Civil society is
not a group of NGOs to be strategically funded and
manipulated by Western governments, but encompasses
powerful, self-assured and truly representative
communities from all over the world; people can be
united beyond religion and ideology, and collectively
cross continents, seas and deserts to put their
beliefs into action.
The activists’ ability to overcome the shameful
silence of the mainstream media also highlights the
importance of alternative media as the single most
important tool in achieving camaraderie. “Throughout
the Gaza Freedom March presence in Cairo, our brothers
and sisters from the South African delegation
dynamically articulated the connections between
injuries that indigenous Africans suffered under the
white supremacist regime in Pretoria and the
inequalities that Palestinians now face at the hands
of the Israeli government,” wrote Joshua Brollier, a
co-coordinator for Voices For Creative Non-Violence,
in the Palestine Chronicle.
Many heroes and heroines emerged from the activists’
action-packed journey to Gaza. Hedy Epstein, an
85-year-old Holocaust survivor whose parents both
perished in Auschwitz, deserves a special mention. She
went on a hunger strike when she, along with many
others were blocked from entering Gaza. Epstein didn’t
stand in solidarity with the Palestinians despite the
Holocaust, but because of the Holocaust. Similarly
many activists drew their solidarity from their
specific experiences and have fought for democracy and
justice back at home.
Maybe I am in tune with reality after all. Maybe the
words and actions of our African America hero Canute
Frankson weren’t in vain. Maybe the quest for justice
can in fact cross all physical and psychological
boundaries. One thing is for sure, though. Gaza is not
alone; in fact, it never was.
- Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an
internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of
PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is "My Father
Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story" (Pluto
Press, London), now available on Amazon.com.
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