YWCA of Palestine: Join us in Commemorating 70 Years of Nakba
The Nakba 70 Years On
by the National YWCA of Palestine
The National YWCA of Palestine invites YWCAs around the world , its partners, and friends to join them in not only remembering the bitter stories of dispossession and forced transfer that occurred 70 years ago, but in demanding the Right of Return for all refugees and the end of the ongoing Nakba still taking place as Palestinians continue to be forced from their lands and homes through ethnic cleansing, home demolishing, evictions, and forced transfers.
This year, we highlight the Gazan refugees and their nonviolent March of Return. 2/3 of Gaza’s two million people are refugees from 1948 or their descendants. One of them is Zana from the village of Auja Al-Hafir near Beersheva. She was 12 years old when she and her mother and brothers were forced under gunfire by an Israeli militia to flee under heavy military fire. They walked two days to Khan Younis on the Gaza Strip. She now lives in the Nusirat refugee Camp. The National YWCA of Palestine is proud to include Zana as a new member of our Fabric of Our Lives Project, which honors refugee women elders so we can learn about their stories of struggle and steadfastness during the years of the Nakba from 1947-1949.
In addition, as an organization that also focuses on youth development, we ask that you remember the Palestinian children and youth who are literally dying for their freedom like this little girl from Gaza. The Great March of Return is about her right to a future with dignity and freedom.
The National YWCA of Palestine calls on all YWCA members, partners, and friends to join us in our advocacy and by supporting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, which include their right to self determination and right of return.
In particular, this 70th year of ongoing Nakba, we ask the international community to:
- Call on your governments to implement all the UN resolutions that recognize the Right of Return;
- End the occupation;
- End the 11 year blockade and siege on the Gaza Strip;
- Support equal rights for all Palestinians including those living in Israel;
- Condone the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem as a violation of international law.