To note, this is a continuation of “WOMEN MAKING HISTORY: PALESTINE ACTIVIST, MAROUA PART 1” interview (check it out)! Here is part two with Maroua sharing her experiences as an activist and student.
J: As a community volunteer at the Helping Hand USA organization, what has been your role, which demographic/community did you serve and where would these acts of service take place?Â
M: The Helping Hand is a nonprofit that provides international short-term and long-term relief to refugee populations and countries worldwide. They’re providing aid to Gaza via the Jordan border, where people drop off donations, and volunteers go and pack up those donations (clothes, medical supplies, school supplies, blankets, etc.) that are shipped overseas.
J: A swarm of students protested against an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Commander when a professor at a Massachusetts university allegedly invited him to speak about his experiences in Gaza. Word spread fast amongst student organizations, leading to public outrage and protest. This was a response to the university’s insensitivity by inviting an IDF member just weeks after it had been announced that over 34,000 Palestinians had been killed. What was your experience seeing this individual in person? What was your experience seeing the amount of people who wanted to hear his story?Â
M: It was infuriating! He kept emphasizing that he’s never killed a soul, but he was on the front lines in October – there’s no way. He came in with loads of propaganda and lies that had been disputed weeks, if not months, before the event, like the beheaded babies lie. That lie was responsible for the hate crime that stole Wadea Al Fayoume’s life. In the audience, Zionist members were rude and racist towards us; however, we stood our ground to let him know that he wasn’t welcome here (I’m glad we did), and he said it was the worst school he ever spoke at, which made me proud of our students.Â
I remember feeling immense disgust and disbelief at the things he was saying. A student in my class, who’s a zionist, was present. He shared nasty opinions afterward, but we don’t let those get to us. We were there for Gaza by demonstrating that college students are aware of the truth and aren’t afraid to expose it to the world, even at the risk of academic discipline. In the end, the speakers at my school’s event were not to “foster understanding” or “speak the truth,” but rather regurgitate the propaganda the Israeli government has been feeding them and has put out through Western media sources. The commander’s evasion of most questions and blaming students for their “disruptive” behavior was obvious. I’m disgusted I ever had to meet him, but I’m glad it provided an opportunity for students on campus to stand up to educate themselves. It’s a small campus, and word spreads fast. I know this protest was able to unite the pro-Palestinians in that way, and I hope it will open the doors to more protests on campus in the future.
J: What has been the most rewarding moment in your activism? What has also been the most defeating aspect of your service?Â
M: The most rewarding part is knowing that Gaza hears us. We sometimes see posts from journalists and Gazans that say, “We hear you, we see you, keep being our voice,” and that gives me chills. In a good way. I’m glad that some of that can reach them and give them small hopes now and then that they are not alone. It’s also really great to have my friends by my side in the protests.Â
The most defeating aspect goes hand in hand with the rewarding one. It’s the exhilaration after an hours-long protest and then going home with red cheeks and a hoarse voice to open up Instagram and see Palestinian babies covered in their blood. Gazians, Syrians, Uyghurs and Afghans: they need our voice, and sometimes that can be emotionally exhausting when you’ve been speaking up for a while without having reached the end goal yet (ceasefire), but we can’t stop.