Sumud – Steadfastness (1948 onwards)
“The list of Palestinian losses is depressing…. That Palestinians do not give up is precisely what is so historic and inspiring about their resistance. For more than 100 years, the Palestinian people have been resisting and fighting for Palestine, holding on to what they have left of it, clinging on to the hope of one day reclaiming what they have lost.
Attention is often given to the armed resistance, but far more numerous, diverse, and long-standing is the unarmed Palestinian resistance. Labour strikes, boycotts, legal actions, political and community organising, demonstrations, marches, hunger strikes, passing the keys of demolished homes from one generation to the next, the formation of Palestinian societies and cultural groups in exile and refugee camps, lobbying politicians across the world, building creative local and sustainable economies, and everyday acts of resistance are all peppered throughout the history of the struggle.
Resistance also comes in the form of cultural productions that narrate and communicate the suffering of Palestinians; intellectual and academic studies that illuminate the history and lived realities of Palestinians; the development of political manifestoes and ideologies that pave a path forward towards freedom and liberation.”
From: Mark Muhannad Ayyash. ‘Fighting for Palestine’. Al Jazeera Opinion, 10 Oct 2020.
Era: Sumud - Steadfastness (1948 onwards)
