Watch: Phoenix protestors stand united with Gaza
Calling for liberation and awareness
Some of the protestors in Phoenix on Sunday.
Image: Rachel Vadi
PRO Palestine protestors took to the streets of Phoenix in Durban on Sunday, calling for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla that was transporting humanitarian aid to the territory.
Fadeela Roman, a Phoenix resident, said she had been following the plight of Palestine since she was eight years old.
“The voices of the people of Palestine need to be amplified. Is up to us humanitarians, as normal human beings, to keep on going and be the voice for the voiceless."
Roman said it was vital to spread awareness and educating people in the plight of Palestinians.
"We once suffered under apartheid as South Africans, and Palestine stood by us. It is now our turn to pay forward.”
Holding a flag that read, “Stop killing our children,” Noor-Jehan Bobat, also of Phoenix, said she was "standing up for the liberation of the Palestinians".
"There has been 77 years of apartheid and subjection living under Israeli rule. Pro Palestine voices are being heard in every corner of the world and even in Phoenix, every voice is a voice right now."
She said it was, however, unfortunate that in South Africa, the Palestine issue was seen as a Muslim issue and for the rest of the world, it was a humanitarian issue.
Dr Lubna Nadvi, a political analyst and representative of both the South African Palestine Movement and KZN Palestine Solidarity, was among the protestors.
She said while the original aim was to create an awareness and educate communities in townships like Phoenix about the genocide in Gaza, they were also demanding the release of Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, and about 500 other volunteers from the Samud Flotilla who were detained in international waters by Israeli military on Friday.
Nadvi said: “We have engaged in solidarity for the last 20-plus years. However, in the last two years there has been a genocide that is unfolding and our protest is intensifying because we need to ensure our government cuts ties with apartheid Israel. Over and above that, we need to create awareness within communities. In a place like Phoenix, there are many people who know what is happening in Palestine and in Gaza, but there are many who do not. So, they go to the store and they buy products not knowing that those products ultimately fund the genocide in Gaza. Part of our message is to tell people to boycott those products."