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Lest We Forget, And Mistakenly . . .
Forgive
On May 15th, 1948, Palestine was drenched in blood and injustice as the
Zionist state of "Israel" was
declared officially before the eyes of the world. The rape of Palestine had been a
systematic effort by the Zionist
movement since the end of the nineteenth century, undertaken through the use of three
complementary means: the force
of violence, the force of money, and the force of international relations, especially with
colonial powers like Britain.
But on May 15th, 1948, the 5.6% of the land of Palestine that the Zionists managed to get
hold of, over fifty years,
became a foothold from which military operations were waged to control most of the rest of
Palestine. In the process,
hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were forcibly evicted from their land and
property, tens of thousands of
Palestinians were killed or wounded, and three thousand and five hundred volunteers from
neighboring Arab states died on
Palestinian soil.
Thus the tragedy of the refugees was born.
It is imperative to see then that the refugee problem is the direct result of the
occupation of the land of Palestine,
and the declaration of the State of "Israel" on May 15th fifty-two years ago.
Hence, the refugee problem can not be about
the right of return of individual refugees to live under occupation. It is about a people,
the Palestinian Arab people, whose
land has been occupied, and whose identity has been denied. The solution of the refugee
problem, therefore, cannot be about
obtaining "Israeli" passports or financial compensation, but about removing the
cause which created it in the first place,
i.e., the occupation of Palestine. The liberation of Palestine then is the solution of the
refugee problem. For one cannot solve
the refugee problem without addressing the context within which it was created in the
first place, the context of the
Zionist occupation.
Has that occupation ceased to exist for us to stop worrying about it? Has it ceased to
confiscate land,
demolish homes, uproot trees, and to oppress Palestinians? Has it ceased to build
settlements and by-pass
roads in the West Bank? Has it ceased to implement plans to transform direct military
control of Arab lands
into economic, political, and cultural hegemony in the Arab World at large?
The answers to all the questions above are: no, no, no, and no!
Therefore we can safely say that the Zionist occupation is not old news,
but a current reality, a living breathing monster that is growing larger
every day. We can run from it, but we cannot hide.
On this anniversary of the ongoing rape of Palestine, let's declare
again to the world that we will not forget Palestine. Let's renew our pledge
to future generations that no matter how much time elapses, we will not forget.
And let's renew our vow to work everyday for the liberation of Palestine.
Long Live the people who will never forget their land and identity!
Long Live the activists and the freedom fighters who give up their
personal ambitions and their lives so our cause may live!
Long Live the prisoners of conscience in Zionist jails, and the children
in the slums of the refugee camps, as living symbols of our cause!
Long Live those who remain steadfast, those who do not buckle under
pressure or change with the changing winds.
Long Live Palestine!
Long Live Palestine!
The Free Arab Voice
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