Due to the grave human rights violations of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarah and the Gaza Strip and to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, Shoruq Organization has launched an extensive media campaign entitled ‘محطات’ or ‘ٍStations’ in English. The main objective behind this campaign is to shed light on the dreadful circumstances of Palestinian refugees; whether living in the Occupied Territories (OPT) or the Diaspora, through the production of various artistic, advocacy, and documentary materials that aim to resuscitate their ongoing struggle in this plight, which was imposed on them by the Israeli occupation.
The online campaign lasted for 10 days, officially beginning from the 9th of May until the 19th. It primarily consisted of a variety of literary and artistic advocacy productions, including a series of articles, documentary videos, posts, and music that all highlight the mournful history of the Nakba, the main challenges that Palestinian refugees face, and their persistent desire to return back to their original homes.
During the Nakba of 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes, over 500 villages were completely destroyed, and most of Palestine was occupied by the Zionist movement. Although the Nakba is commemorated every year on May 15, the campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestine began much earlier than May 15th, 1948; Zionist gangs attacked Palestinian villages with the aim of causing panic, entire towns were looted, and dozens of massacres were committed against the indigenous Palestinian population.
“We at Shoruq Organization affirm in front of all the dangers and challenges facing our people and our case as Palestinians that the real key to the elevation of the Palestinian cause lies in solidifying national action and raising awareness of the real situation in Palestine at the local and international level,” said Shoruq’s executive director Hazem Alqassas. “Shoruq Organization aims to achieve this through the use of many effective and contemporary means, such as art, writing, and modern media, along with all its components”
In addition, as part of ‘ٍStations’ campaign, Shoruq Organization organized a ٍwebinar entitled ‘ٍGlobal Activism for Palestine,’ which was joined by three international young advocates for the Palestinian cause. The speakers for this webinar included Ben Mulick, the co-founder of the Students for Justice in Palestine Solidarity Network, Aisha Mansour, a student activist specialized in Palestinian Resistance Studies, and Håvard Skjerdal, the head of political communication at YGlobal in Norway. The speakers spoke about their advocacy efforts in raising awareness about Palestine in the United States and Europe, the main challenges they are subjected to by western governments, with an emphasis on censorship, and the strategies they follow to make their advocacy effective.
Based in Dheisheh refugee camp, Shoruq Organization is uniquely positioned to speak to the plight of Palestinian refugees. Dheisheh is one of 58 Palestinian refugee camps administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and was founded as a temporary sanctuary shortly after the 1948 Nakba. Today, more than 15,000 inhabitants live on less than one square kilometer of land in Dheisheh refugee camp.