The pro-Palestinian protesters from the encampment at Harmonie square are raising money for two of the protesters’ families in Gaza.
A fundraiser held last Saturday included a market where clothing, art pieces, and food were sold. People could also get their hands painted with henna.
‘It was very successful’, says encampment spokesperson and PhD student Alina. ‘We got a lot of money out of it.’ The protesters are now organising yet another fundraiser on Thursday, where they will also sell baked goods.
Medical care
The money is meant to support the families of Nour and Alaa, who are still in Gaza. Nour’s mother was ‘severely injured by shrapnel and is in an ICU and really needs to be evacuated, because there is no medical care at this stage in Gaza that could handle such a severe case’, Alina explains.
The fundraiser was also a way for the encampment’s members to connect more to local people. ‘We could talk a little about what we’re doing, and have a bit of an open camp day, basically.’
They feel the conditions of the encampment are getting more attention than their message and goals.
‘We have a lot of people come here who are very interested in the way we distribute food or organise the bathroom situation. That’s all well and good, but we are here for boycott, divestment, and disclosure’, says Alina. ‘People are putting their bodies on the line and putting their lives on hold to be here. There’s people dying every day in Gaza. That is the message.’
Die-in
To drive that message home, the encampment also staged a ‘die-in’ in front of the Academy building last Monday. Around thirty protesters lay ‘dead’ for half an hour in front of the stairs, some of whom were wearing white shirts, with red paint splatters mimicking blood.
Meanwhile, the latest news from Gaza was announced through a megaphone, interspersed with poems and bookended by a list of children who have been killed by Israeli forces.
Twenty-three days have passed since the encampment was established on May 13. Alina maintains the protesters will stay until their demands are met. ‘It is up to the university.’