Editorial: For Palestine
Our Shared History of Colonialism, Occupation, Genocide and Solidarity
Mural on a wall in Bethlehem, Palestine
History repeats itself in the most violent and inhumane ways — the last week of Israeli genocidal aggression on the 2.4 million Palestinians trapped in the world’s largest concentration camp shows us so. Carpet bombing, the use of white phosphorus, reneging on promises of safe passage, indiscriminate killings and bombings of civilian targets including hospitals: the war crimes pile on. So does the death toll — as of October 15th, 2,383 Palestinians have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. Western leaders are falling over themselves to pledge their support for the apartheid state of Israel, going to sinister lengths to denounce anyone who speaks of the horrors inflicted on Palestinians. There is nothing new to say here, except that Gaza is in our thoughts, our prayers, our tears, our clenched fists. We pledge our solidarity — without equivocation — with the Palestinian demand for liberation.
Our solidarity comes from our shared histories of colonialism and forced expulsions. As South Asians, we are keenly aware of the horrors of forced displacement. In 1947, the British empire brokered the Partition of the Indian subcontinent, uprooting millions from their homes. A year later, the British would broker yet another historical displacement — that of the Palestinians, the Nakba — and play their part in creating the state of Israel. After each schism of seismic proportions, the dying Empire washed its hands off while the cleaved were left to pick up the pieces, our traumas from such separation fueling endless conflict.
Our solidarity stems from our own experience with occupation. Media blackouts, looming military presence, controlled checkpoints, cutting off basic necessities, and targeting of journalists who dare reveal the truth — from Kashmir to Gaza, we know too well the occupiers’ playbook and the lengths they will go to silence the occupied and stifle their rights.
Our solidarity rises from our traumas of genocide, admittedly within our own ranks. From the Pakistani army’s mass killings in Bangladesh in 1971, to the Sri Lankan government’s Tamil genocide between 1948-2009, the Indian government’s atrocities against Sikhs, Dalits, Muslims, and Adivasis, and the Bangladeshi government’s attacks against the Adibashi indigenous tribes, our blood-drenched history shows our umbilical familiarity with the ethnic cleansing the Israeli government is currently carrying out in Gaza.
Our solidarity is rooted in our understanding that the rise of authoritarian, fascist, ethno-religious governments in South Asian countries is aligned with the fascist apartheid government of Netanyahu in Israel. The alignment is not just ideological; it is strategic as well. Modi and Netanyahu express solidarity with each other in the media. Behind closed-doors, India also purchases spyware and military equipment from Israel to keep constituents in line and suppress dissent. Not to be left behind, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have followed suit.
Our solidarity with Palestinians today draws energies from solidarities forged in the past. As Pakistani communist parties like the Mazdoor Kisan Party launched mass fundraising campaigns to support Palestinian liberation in the 1970s, thousands of Bangladeshi youth volunteered to fight with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) through the 80s. Many even died alongside their Palestinian comrades and are buried in PLO graves in Lebanon. While India today cozies up with Israel, it was the first non-Arab country to recognize the PLO and the Palestinian state in the 80s, including releasing a commemorative stamp in solidarity with the Palestinians.
We cannot “both sides” our way out of occupation and apartheid. Our duty and responsibility are always, and should always be, for the cause of the oppressed. The Palestinian Youth Movement recently wrote, “we know why Gaza is being targeted: because it is the heart of our resistance. The Palestinian resistance is unbowed.” So should our solidarity be. We have filled the streets — from Dhaka to Delhi, Lahore to London — and we will continue to show up, because Palestine needs to be free.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.