* The commemoration fell on November 29 aimed at creating awareness about the challenging circumstances faced by the Palestinian people
* Which has been exacerbated by the Israel/Hamas war that started in October and claimed thousands of lives
By Duncan Mlanjira
Mitri Raheb, Pastor at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and Samar Ada, a political and human rights activist based in Tunisia, are two of the four keynote speakers when Malawi will commemorate the International Day in Solidarity for Palestinian People this afternoon at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre.
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Organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Movement in Malawi, the commemoration, which fell on November 29, aims at creating awareness about the challenging circumstances faced by the Palestinian people and exacerbated by the Israel/Hamas war.
Mitri Raheb, who is founder and president of Diyarbakir Consortium, has written 16 books and numerous articles on issues relating to interfaith dialogue and social transformation
According to Wikipedia, the Diyar Consortium is a group of Lutheran-based, ecumenically-oriented institutions serving the Bethlehem area. It is an umbrella organization that is responsible for the administration of its component institutions: the ICB, the Dar Al-Kalima Health & Wellness Center, and the Dar Al-Kalima College.
Diyar is Arabic — the plural of ‘dar’ meaning ‘house’ or ‘homeland’ in Arabic and the consortium is governed by a Board of directors, whose members come from diverse religious and vocational backgrounds, and administered by an executive committee and three program committees for health, culture, education among others.
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Samar Ada, a French professor and researcher in decolonial Sengalese literature, is African campaign coordinator of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
The two join Malawians, Sheriffa Mia and Tacreema Chikwatu. Mia is country manager of Gift of the Givers — a leading international NGO which is actively engaged in addressing humanitarian needs in Palestine.
With over 20 years experience in the humanitarian sector, Mia previously headed the Islamic Relief Office for six years and also worked in South Africa and Zimbabwe and Malawi.
While Tacreema, a holder of Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems & Security, is award winning artist who uses poetry to inspire change — tackling racism and social injustice.
The Palestinian Solidarity Movement in Malawi says they are expecting the presence of esteemed guests, including Members of Parliament, Blantyre City Mayor, senior police officers, members of the Judiciary, media practitioners, members of the clergy, human rights activists, civil society leaders, and various other prominent members of the community — who have all been invited to attend.
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“The Palestinian Solidarity Movement here in Malawi is a dedicated group of individuals committed to promoting peace, justice and respect for fundamental human rights,” says an invitation to the members of the public.
“The purpose and objective of this event are deeply rooted in creating awareness about the challenging circumstances faced by the Palestinian people.
“Against the backdrop of recent atrocities committed by the apartheid state of Israel, recognized as acts tantamount to genocide and ethnic cleansing, we aim to shed light on these issues as clear violations of international law.”
The day’s events program will delve into crucial discussions, including an exploration of BDS campaign and the Malawi Movement further says the program will include various activities, with a special highlight being a thought-provoking film screening.
Since the crisis in Gaza reached an unprecedented levels, that has claimed thousands of lives, the Palestinian Solidarity Movement in Malawi has been organising awareness and solidarity meetings.
In October an incredible number of over 80 participants graced the Movement’s vigil that was held at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre that included university and young primary and secondary school students as well as young Nyasa Big Bullets supporters, who are known ‘Mapalestina’ due to their resilience and strength.
A short video, ‘A Brief History of the Palestinians Israeli Conflict’ (link https://youtu.be/R0ftmf_Uv9A?si=AkzimrN9kByWwOXi) was then screened followed by a presentation by Dr. Nandini Patel.
Thereafter, there was a short poem entitled ‘Palestinian Echos’, recited by Sr Tacreema Chikwatu as a prelude to the main session of the event followed by a plenary session where the whole audience were invited to comment, discuss and deliberate — facilitated by veteran journalist, Tailos Bakili.
“What came through quite clearly from this is the knowledge and information gap on this topic as many were under the misconception that it is a religious conflict with Islamist terrorists attacking the Jewish population that is rightfully there,” said the Movement.
The gathering also came up with possible way forward for the Movement, which include increase organisation of such events towards a better informed public; public gatherings as well at universities and schools and engagement with Malawi media houses to give them an accurate and true picture of what is happening on the ground rather than the distorted and biased newsfeeds they are getting from various international news sources.
The Movement is also engaging with the media and to invest in a robust and strong social media strategy to maximise the reach on this important topic as well as to keep the discussion alive on the Israel-Palestine conflict rather than only when there is a problem.
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