On Palestinian Solidarity Day Gaza’s voices echo

An Islamic Relief aid worker from Gaza reflects on a powerful and personal symbol of Palestinian culture. Gaza has endured over a year of relentless attacks and suffering which have forced our colleague, like so many other Palestinians, from his home. He has managed to get his family to safety in a nearby country but longs for home and peace.

29 November marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It’s the second consecutive year that we’re observing this day while the people of Gaza live under bombardment, enduring unimaginable hardships, massacres, injuries and displacement.

As a Palestinian, I feel deep disappointment when I witness the world’s only nations’ forum – where all countries unite for the good of our planet and the good of mankind, the same forum that issued the Sustainable Development Goals and fights for sustainable change to our planet – continue to issue decisions and treaties without meaningful implementation.

I am, however, profoundly grateful to the compassionate individuals and leaders around the world who are willing to step forward and stand for justice, regardless of the cost. These are the people who invest their time, money, and effort to oppose wrongdoing and support the vulnerable, even if only with words of encouragement.

Each one of us Palestinians has a personal story of suffering and the deprivation of our rights supposedly guaranteed by international law. I often wonder: to whom are these rights guaranteed if we, and so many other vulnerable communities, are denied them?

A symbol of peace left to wither

Looking back at our beloved Gaza just over a year ago, despite being labelled by some as the world’s largest open-air prison, it was a haven to us. I cannot forget the olive trees – symbols of peace and a primary source of nutrition for most Palestinians.

Now, for the second year in a row, they have not been harvested. But it’s not just the harvest that has been lost. The children that have so far survived the attacks have lost more than a year of school. All of us have lost not just these trees, but also our loved ones, our memories, and our hope for a more just world.

Thinking of the olive trees takes me further back, to 2005, and to the famous image of Mahfouza Odeh, a 75-year-old woman hugging the last tree in her olive grove before it was destroyed. That hug symbolised the mutual love between Mahfouza and her trees. I wish I’d had the chance to hug my own trees goodbye. It’s a feeling so many of us share.

‘No development, no prosperity, no humanitarian crisis‘

My thoughts jump forward 10 years, I remember a poignant article  in The Nation by Sara Roy, where an Israeli official described the strategy towards Gaza as “No development, no prosperity, no humanitarian crisis.” This phrase encapsulates the decades of hardship Palestinians in Gaza have endured. Under the guise of “no humanitarian crisis,” patients have died due to lack of medication and the inability to travel for treatment. “No prosperity” means that any improvement to our situation can be erased in the blink of an eye, leaving us back at square one. “No development” has been enforced through restrictions, blockades, and the deprivation of free movement, disconnecting us from our natural extension in the West Bank.

All of this, although categorised as a prolonged crisis, was deemed “no humanitarian crisis” in 2015 because it wasn’t making headlines.

Here we remain

Last year, during our displacement, the surviving olive trees stood full of olives, waiting for us to harvest, pickle, and press their fruit into oil. We have a profound bond with these trees and the land they grow on. They are an integral part of our heritage, food, and even our proverbs, a heritage accumulated through centuries of connection. As the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said, “Here we remain, as long as thyme and olives remain.”

I cannot forget that olive trees provided us with wood and leaves to burn for heat and cooking when there was no fuel. We keep taking, and they keep giving. Even their extended branches sheltered us when we had no other shelter.

Uprooted trees and uprooted people

The uprooted, burned, or shredded trees in Gaza remind me of the West Bank, where olive trees have been regularly attacked, burned, cut down, and destroyed annually, right before harvest, a practice that began long before October 2023.

It’s not only olive trees and their owners who suffer in the West Bank. Children face numerous dangers on their way to school. Pregnant women have given birth during hours-long waits at checkpoints. Residents of Jerusalem are forced to evacuate their homes, only to see new inhabitants installed in their place.

Even United Nations bodies and international non-governmental organisations providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, like UNRWA, have faced challenges despite their adherence to the highest standards of transparency and accountability. If such globally overseen organisations face obstacles, what fate awaits more vulnerable humanitarian workers, agencies, and individuals?

Flourishing where we belong

This is not a conclusion, for our story continues. It’s time to stop losing lives and attempting to change nature that we know is impossible to change. The olive trees and the people bonded to them can only live and thrive on this land, just as other types of trees flourish where they too belong. As Mahmoud Darwish said, our existence is as deeply rooted in this land as the olive trees.

On this International Day of Solidarity, let us remember the enduring spirit of the Palestinian people and the centuries-old olive trees that symbolise our resilience. We invite the global community to stand with us, not just in words but in actions that lead to meaningful change.

Islamic Relief continues to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza. We call on the international community ensure that international law be upheld, and Israel do everything within its power to comply with the ICJ ruling in January 2024 to ensure that civilians are protected from harm.  

Our teams and partners on the ground are working tirelessly to support provide food, water and other essentials to families in need in Gaza. To support this vital work, please donate to our Palestine Emergency Appeal today.