Sarah Abdulaqader, psychology senior and Hayat Elashi, Arts & Technology junior, registered Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, in spring 2010.
SJP is a nationwide initiative founded at the University of California, Berkley in 2001. The UTD group already has more than 50 members coming from diverse backgrounds.
“Our main objective is to give a voice to the voiceless, remind the world about what has been going on (in Palestine) for years,” Elashi said. “There are areas in Palestine which are densely populated and yet do not have access to basic facilities like medical aids.”
The group has events like monthly meetings and movie nights to showcase documentaries. The SJP recently invited a former Israel defense force soldier to visit UTD in November to speak about his experiences. “This will give an insider point of view to everyone about how unjust the situation is,” Elashi said about the upcoming speaker.
Members said they believe they must do whatever they can to help the situation in Palestine.
“I am Palestinian, but … these are people just like any other and they have been living under worse conditions — under military occupation for more than six decades and they de- serve to live freely,” Abdulqader said. Many of the group members have personal ties with Palestine, while others are motivated to help by the stories from the former.
“My father is currently in prison; he was found guilty. I will not say he was prosecuted, he was persecuted falsely. He was one of the volunteers of Holy Lands Foundation which was a humanitarian charity,” Abdulqader said. “This foundation used to help people in Palestine by providing backpacks and blankets. The government prosecuted it saying that they were giving money to the wrong people.” Sumayah Ahmad, secretary, and Usama Ali, vice president, said the only way to help change the situation of people in Palestine is to amplify their cries of justice among the masses.
“To see pictures of young Palestinian boys climbing on the Apartheid wall in the West Bank, which stands over eight meters high, shows me the pride and hope they have,” Abdulqader said. “To see a young Palestinian girl from Gaza who lost more than 30 members of her family in less than a minute from an Israeli bomb, dreaming and aspiring to become a lawyer, reminds me of the duty I have to tell the world of her story. These stories of hope and courage from the Palestinian people encourage me to believe that there is something to be done, something to be said on their behalf, to do whatever is in my power to help them.”
