Solidarity Speaks! (No. 10)
We joined together on Wednesday, December 13th of 2023 for Solidarity Speaks, the tenth session of our emergency webinar series giving people around the world a forum to hear directly from Palestinian human rights defenders calling for an permanent ceasefire, a release of all the hostages, and an end to collective punishment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
We were joined by Basman Derawi of We Are Not Numbers, a Palestinian youth-led project that provides the world with direct access to Gazan narratives without any restrictions and without foreign intermediaries speaking on their behalf. In their own words, they “share and celebrate the stories, daily personal struggles and triumphs, the tears and the laughter, and the aspirations of Palestinians that are so universal that if it were not for the context, they would immediately resonate with everyone.”
Basman Derawi is a physiotherapist who was not able to return to his home in the al-Remal neighborhood of Gaza City since October 7th. He was attending a course in physiotherapy in Egypt with the Palestinian Ministry of Health when aggressions began. He believes in writing as a remedy and a tool for change and is inspired by music, movies, and the stories of people with special needs. We were honored to speak with him about the events of the last weeks and about the ways the ongoing violence was impacting him, his family, and his community.
This recording of the webinar is free and open to the public, but you can become a member or contribute at the following link to sustain the Green Olive Collective and our work to challenge the violence of occupation and advocate for a democratic future.
