By: McKinley Braley, Contributor
On Monday, April 22nd, small communities of Maine gathered in the Talbot Lecture Hall for a discussion on the current state of “Palestine Today”. This event was organized by the USM Criminology Department and Maine Students for Palestine and was an extension of an earlier discussion in November. The four presenters from Colby College discussed topics on humanitarianism, the difference between genocide and war, and our roles and responsibilities.
Starting almost seven months ago, on Oct. 7 was the beginning of the Genocide in Gaza, pertaining to the attacks from Israel. Since then, there have been hundreds and thousands of wounded and murdered civilians in Gaza. Not only destroying lives but destroying the place the city they once called home. A question many of us are thinking is, what is our role in this, and how can we help? The Professors of Colby College touched on this subject and more important topics.
Brendan McQuade, the head of the Criminology department, introduced us to the event and the following presenters. During McQuade’s introduction, he raised an important question “What would I do if my country was committing Genocide?” the answer is, “You are doing it right now”. Although we are not in Gaza or Israel, in this moment, we are living through a Genocide. Even though we are not in Gaza or Israel, we still have an active role with our reactions and actions.
Mohammad Shabangu, an Assistant Professor at Colby College, was the first presenter at the event. Shabangu’s presentation was titled “Israelis Apartheid and Normalisation of Crisis”. Opening Shabangu’s presentation, they discussed the precautions they have to take when presenting in the United States versus South Africa. Shabangu states, “I always have to wonder who might be in the room who is ready to misunderstand,” then opening the conversation for people who are ready to “willfully misunderstand”. Shabangu projected previous interviews of Joe Biden and his support for Israel, even before the Genocide. Which we know he still stands firmly on today.
The next presentation, titled “The Difference Between Genocide and War – From a Military Aspect,” was presented by Deen Haleem. Haleem shared his history of previous and current participation in the military from 1981. This brings a specific observation on how what is happening in Gaza should be perceived as a genocide and not a war. Haleem shared the statistics of the overall amount and size of the bombs that have been dropped in Gaza since October 7th. Dropping bombs that range from 500-2,000 lbs. Haleem puts this into perspective, stating, “If you had 58 soccer fields, and a 2,000lb bomb was dropped, it would obliterate everything in the 58 soccer fields”. Over 500 of these bombs were dropped in the first two months of the genocide.
Nadia El Shaarwai, an Associate Professor of Global Studies at Colby College, presented the third presentation. Titled “Humanitarianism in a Time of Genocide”. Nadia examined the political role that humanitarianism plays in the genocide. Furthering Deen Haleem’s statements that this is not a war, explaining the mental, physical, and emotional effects that the genocide in Gaza has brought. Nadia explained, “If the bombing stops today, the deadly, physical, mental, and emotional costs of war are not just going to go away”, adding that “There will be many people that continue to suffer and be killed even if the war was stopped tomorrow”. Furthering the perception that we should have of how this is not a war; this is a genocide.
The final presentation was by Sarah Al Matri, titled “Origins of the BDS Movement and Implications Today”. Al Matri is a Palestinian Land and Justice Advocate Organizer in the Maine Coalition for Palestine. The BDS movement stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. Al Matri discussed the BDS movement, their history, our participation, and the goals of the movement. Al Matri also shared businesses that are complicit with Israel and alternatives to certain products. One being that if you have an HP printer, you can buy regular printer ink cartridges, and they will work. From Howard Zinn, Al Matri shared this quote “You cannot be neutral on a moving train”.
Concluding the event, there was a chance to ask questions to the presenters. The community had inquiries of how we can further help, protesting, how we are participating, and the president’s role and support for Israel. Even though this is a heavy subject, technical difficulties with videos and the microphone provided momentary relief for those who attended. To stay connected with the news and learn more about how you can help, you can go to BDSmovement.net or follow @coalitionforpalestineme.