اذهب إلى فلسطين جميل

Earlier this April, I decided to take upwards of $2,500 from the money I've been saving since high school and signed for Birthright Unplugged to take me to Palestine this summer. That money was supposed to be for emergencies (and groceries), but I figure, if military occupation and systematic segregation isn't an emergency, what is, eh? I had only signed up for the tour part initially, but Dunya and Hannah (the women in charge of the program) really wanted Hampshire students to participate in the BDS/I Institute (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) since Students for Justice in Palestine is already deeply involved in a boycott campaign.

I feel ridiculously unprepared, so I'm glad that Kanya will also be there to represent Hampshire SJP. I don't think I'm as intelligent as the other people in the group--I'm the mistress of propaganda, and I plan and participate in protests. I'm a good demagogue, but not a good scholar by any means. I am very unsure of the specifics of the conflict, but very set in my opinions/ideology.

The reason I am so involved in work for Palestine is that I see land theft as an Indigenous issue. I am a white woman of Indian descent, and for that reason I don't really have any tolerance for military powers forcing original populations off their land, swallowing up their country on the pretext that it is a God-given right, and calling the little fenced-in bits of land where they dump the refugees and survivors a "generous offer."

Before there can be peace, there must be justice. It's time for the West to stop taking, taking taking and start repairing what it has destroyed. I hope I can be of some use.

Keep watching this blog for updates and photos... I don't know if I will have access to a computer, but if not, look for a full account of the trip on July 4th or soon after.

All my love,
Hannah