Hundreds of people gathered in Lisbon this Wednesday (October 18th) to support the Palestinian people and protest against the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip promoted by the State of Israel. The demonstration also served to demand a stance from the Portuguese government condemning apartheid policies in the region.
This was the second initiative carried out in the Portuguese capital. Last week, the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC), together with other organizations, had already called for an event at the same location, Praça Martim Moniz, a region known for the concentration of thousands of immigrants. A third act is already planned for October 29, also convened by the CPPC.
To the sound of drums and traditional Palestinian music, the demonstrators raised their banners, posters and flags and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some Palestinians living in Lisbon shouted loudly: “We are not terrorists!”
Palestinian researcher Dima Mohammed, who has lived in Portugal for 12 years, says that despite all the suffering she and her family face, it is comforting to be there and witness the solidarity of so many people. “This is important because we will need this strength to continue our fight and our resistance, because without justice there is no peace,” he says with tears in his eyes.
As the daughter of refugees, she explains that her grandparents were expelled from their village in May 1948, shortly after the Deir Yassin massacre. Currently, Dima is one of the coordinators of the Department of Philosophy at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa ArgLab.
“Of course, nothing will erase the suffering of decades of oppression, but a fair solution can make this entire struggle worthwhile and provide forgiveness for what has been done to our people for more than 75 years.” We will continue to demand that all Palestinians be treated as equal citizens and that they have the freedom and dignity to live their lives,” she says.
🇵🇸 “It’s for everyone. We fight for equality. That’s the idea!”
Today’s demonstration in Lisbon also served to demand from the Portuguese government a stance condemning apartheid policies in Palestine.
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— Hedflow (@Hedflow) October 18, 2023
According to João Coelho, representative of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), reports of abuses against Palestinian workers living in the region, including the West Bank, are received every day. He claims that thousands of young people in Israel have been unjustly unemployed and without prospects for the future.
The union leader also says that these people are prevented from returning to their homes and suffer transfers and evictions without guaranteed accommodation, in addition to the various physical and verbal attacks that frequently occur in their workplaces.
“It is necessary to put an end to the racist policy of apartheid, subjugation, aggression, exploitation and colonial expansion promoted by the Israeli government and the most reactionary parts of Israel.” In view of this massacre of the Palestinian people, the European Union reiterates, The United States and NATO countries admit their complicity and support the continuation of genocide. What is needed is an end to the escalation that stops the killing of civilians. “Israel continues its policy of international affront, strangulation of an entire population and disregard for successive UN resolutions,” he said.
For Carlos Almeida, vice president of the Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and for Peace in the Middle East (MPPM), the position of the Portuguese government is hypocritical since it is a sham speech that talks about peace but refuses to go to it Get to the bottom of the problem and adopt a policy of alignment with other countries in the European bloc.
“It is an expression of an ambiguous and ultimately complicit attitude of the European Union towards the events in Palestine. “The Portuguese government has repeated the call for the creation of two states, but in reality it does not even recognize the State of Palestine, which would be elementary since it defends this solution that is declared unworkable every day,” Almeida reinforces.