"As you conduct your wars, think of others
(do not forget those who seek peace)As you pay your water bill, think of others
(those who are nursed by clouds).As you return home, to your home, think of others
(do not forget the people of the camps)."-Mahmoud Darwish
Earlier this week, a gunman shot three Palestinian college students as they were walking in a Vermont neighborhood.
“I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict,” Hisham Awartani, one of the students, said in a statement with Brown University Palestinian student groups. Awartani sustained a bullet in his spine, and may never be able to walk again.
“Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army,” Awartani continued. “The soldier who shot me would go home and never be convicted…any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine. That is why when you say your wishes and light your candles today, your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual, but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed.”
As our elected officials have failed to materialize a long-term ceasefire, an estimated 17,144 people have been killed in Gaza, including 7,208 children. UN experts have sounded the alarm on “a genocide in the making” in Gaza.
Make no mistake: Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians on October 7th was horrific, and we must collectively act to repudiate anti-semitism and anti-Jewish hate. But the road to peace cannot be paved with violence.
Despite 68% of Americans and 80% of Democratic voters supporting a ceasefire, just 47 Representatives and only 3 Senators have publicly called for a ceasefire. And President Biden continues to resist calls for a ceasefire, amidst division in his own administration.
Structures of colonialism and imperialism have conditioned us to view the suffering of Black and brown people, whether it be in Palestine or Haiti, as commonplace, almost inevitable. As Americans, we live with the massive suffering of migrants at our border and beyond. The International Organization for Migration declared the U.S.-Mexico border as the deadliest land route for migrants in the world, with at least 686 deaths and disappearances last year. 39,013 people are currently in ICE detention, despite over 70% having no criminal record.
When advocating for and educating on humane migratory policies, or just foreign policy in Haiti, I often find myself in the position of having to humanize migrants and Haitians. I must explain why our existence as non-white people is not a threat to national security, that we too deserve to exist.
The Biden administration is not oblivious to the horrors the asylum ban inflicts on migrants trapped in Mexico, or the danger that people deported to Haiti and Venezuela face on their return. As Senators are negotiating whether or not to decimate asylum protections in exchange for sending aid to Ukraine, they are fully aware of how this could endanger families and people fleeing danger in their homelands.
Our current systems of immigration enforcement, and the discourse surrounding it, operate under the assumption that the pain of Black and brown families is simply the price to pay for secure borders.
Another group’s survival, whether it be Nicaraguan migrants or the people of Palestine, does not come at the cost of our own.
Just as we must reject anti-Jewish hate in all its forms, we must reject anti-Arab hate, anti-Palestinian hate, and xenophobia. And let’s not forget Palestinian Christians, the world’s oldest Christian community, who are currently at risk of extinction.
We continue to call for a ceasefire in the holy land. We invite you to join us by clicking HERE to send a Christmas card for peace to the White House and Congress.
We continue to defend the rights of migrants, who far too often are denied them. You can click HERE to tell your Senators to protect asylum and invest in community solutions, not broken systems of detention and deterrence.
We continue to believe that a different future is possible, one built on inclusion, justice, and opportunity for all.