by Gulamhusein A. Abba
“Palestinians who have adopted
non-violent forms of resistance are ignored.
Khader Adnan, who has yet to be
charged with any crime,
who has gone nearly
two months on hunger-strike, is
still not ‘Gandhi-enough’ for the New York Times;
his selfless protest
against the administrative detention of himself and other Palestinian detainees
has garnered little sympathy from the West’s laundry-list
of non-violent enthusiasts” –
Roqayah
“Israel denied Khader any
fairness or decency, but maybe the rest of humanity
will show more mercy.” -- Randa
Adnan, the wife of detained Khader Adnan
Many are the times the question “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi” been
asked. And many are the times an answer has been given. The latest deserves
attention. Appearing under the name of Roqayah the following appeared on
February 16,2012 at http://frustratedarab.com/2012/02/16/where-is-the-palestinian-gandhi-and-other-stale-adages/ At the end of the article are
links to four excellent articles on the
subject.
Where Is
The Palestinian Gandhi?
And Other
Stale Adages
by Roqayah Chamseddine
February 16, 2012
Where
is the Palestinian Gandhi? The non-violent heroin, the passive resister? The
Palestinian who withstands blow after blow from Israel’s industry of
occupation, yet refuses to strike back?
It
is a fairly popular brain-teaser tossed around amongst orientalist’s; the
Thomas Friedman’s, Nick Kristof’s and other backseat taxi-cab reporters.
The
Palestinian prophet’s of peace are many. They have been
jailed, taken captive by Israeli forces in the darkest of hours, routinely
denied due process by Israeli courts, shot at close range with tear-gas
canisters, rubber bullets and live ammunition. Their villages have been
ransacked, their homes occupied by Israeli settlers armed and often trained by
the Israeli military. Palestinian non-violent resisters have gone on
hunger-strikes, most recently of which was Khader Adnan, who is entering his
61st day on hunger-strike, who lays emaciated, dying, and chained to an Israeli hospital bed.
“Protests have been held to support [Khader
Adnan] around the world,” writes Nathan Stuckey, of the International
Solidarity Movement:
“Hundreds
of Palestinians have joined hunger strikes in solidarity with him. Today,
in Beit Hanoun, we marched in solidarity with him. We gathered by the
half destroyed Beit Hanoun Agricultural College, we passed out posters of
Khader Adnan, we raised the Palestinian flag, and we set off into the buffer
zone. Above us were three Israel Apaches, a drone, and an observation
balloon, in front of us was a giant concrete wall with towers full of soldiers,
and a jeep and a tank on a hill.”
In the village of Bil’in, a Palestinian village struggling to
avoid being ethnically cleansed, Abdallah Abu Rahmah was convicted in an
Israeli military court of incitement and “organizing illegal demonstrations.” Israel has annexed
close to 60% of Bil’in, destroying much the villages olive groves and
resources, and the villagers remain defiant in spite of Israel’s colonial
ambitions.
In
Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East
Jerusalem where Israeli forces have arrested hundreds of protesters,
demonstrations are held against Israel’s routine house demolitions,
discrimination and evictions:“On February 13th, 2012 at 7:00 AM, the Israel
Nature and Parks Authority, accompanied by the police, demolished a Palestinian
community center and playground in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan.”
Palestinians
who have adopted non-violent forms of resistance are ignored. Khader Adnan, who
has yet to be charged with any crime, who has gone nearly 2
months on hunger-strike, is still not ‘Gandhi-enough’ for the New York Times;
his selfless protest against the administrative detention of himself and
other Palestinian detainees has garnered little sympathy from the West’s
laundry-list of non-violent enthusiasts.
Yet
this is not a plea for understanding or sympathy. The Palestinians are not
looking for a feature in the mainstream media, nor are they sitting on their
hands pleading for you to understand; they continue to withstand
Israel’s apartheid with dignity regardless.
As
Khader Adnan and thousands of Palestinians like him face imminent death inside
the walls of Israel’s prisons and behind the wall’s of Israel’s brutal
occupation we should ask instead: Where is the international community?
Randa
Adnan, the wife of detained Khader, still holds on to the hope that her
husbands struggle will not end in his death:
“Israel
denied Khader any fairness or decency, but maybe the rest of humanity will show
more mercy.”
About
the author:Roqayah
Chamseddine is a US based Lebanese-American
journalist, commentator and international activist; she was a member of the
first Gaza Freedom March which
took place inDecember of 2009 in Cairo, Egypt.During the winter of 2010-2011 she independently
documented the lives of men, women and children living in the Palestinian
Refugee Camps of Lebanon including the camps of Sabra and Shatila and Burj el
Barajneh. She is a 2011 University graduate, holding a Bachelors
degree in both Political Science/Pre-Law and Journalism with emphasis in
International Criminal Law; she will be seeking an MA in Journalism in 2012 in
Australia.She is currently working on her first book, We Refuse To
Perish, meant to document historical background and personal
accounts of events in Lebanon, specifically Southern Lebanon, prior to and
after the 2006 July War.
See also:
The Myth of Gandhi and Palestinian Reality By Ali Abunimah
The Invisible Gandhi By Samah Sabawi
Between Violence and Non Violence By Amira Hass
Should Arafat do the Gandhi? By Gulamhusein Abba
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