With Palestinian flags raised high, fists in the air and the echo of voices chanting “Free Palestine” floating through the busy streets of Newcastle, protestors united in solidarity for Palestine in a peaceful march on Friday, 21 March.
Sajjid Bajwa, President of the Pakistan Newcastle Community, showed his support for the Palestinian people during the march. “For over a week we have been witnessing one of the worst upsurges of violence in Israel and Palestine. The grave escalation in and around Gaza follows days of clashes in Jerusalem including at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. We are particularly dismayed at the large number of civilian deaths and injuries. We as the community of Newcastle have come together to show solidarity. As PNC we have put together this march to show humanity and raise voices in order to bring about change and peace. Tragically, this is a cycle of violence that we have seen all too often. We need this to change. Both Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve to live in safety and security enjoying equal rights, fundamental freedom and democracy,” said Bajwa. Sumayya Omar, one of the attendees of the event, has seen first-hand the struggles of the people during her journeys to Palestine and surrounding areas.
“I have travelled to Palestine in 2015, flew to Jordan and then took a bus into Palestine. I visited the West Bank and spent time in Jerusalem. I went to the Jordanian border, into Palestine where I experienced first-hand and witnessed the system of the Israeli apartheid. In April I was part of a ladies delegation that travelled to Afghanistan and Lebanon where we did humanitarian camps in Beirut,” she said. Omar urges the citizens of Newcastle to put aside their differences and realise that this is a human issue now more than ever. Attending the march was Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, Regional Chairperson of the ANC who delivered a strong message to the crowd. “As the National African Congress, I am not only speaking on behalf of the region but of the entire family of the ANC in South Africa. We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine because the very same brutality that they are facing is the very same brutality that we faced under the apartheid regime,” said Mahlaba.
