After over a year of the ongoing war in Gaza, student-led initiatives continue to call for increased public awareness of the situation, emphasizing its implications for the Filipino people and the role of the United States’ imperialism in these ongoing struggles.

Students for Gaza, a humanitarian campaign initiated by the Ateneo International Studies Students Organization (AISSO), SALAM – The Ateneo Muslim Society, Kapisanan ng Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran at Sosyolohiya (KAPPS), Ateneo Film Circle (AFC), and Al Qalam Institute of the Ateneo de Davao University, hosted a fundraising event featuring the film “Farha,” followed by insightful discussions from various speakers.

Farha tells the story of a young Palestinian girl locked inside a small pantry as her village grapples with the violence of the Nakba during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

PH as one of the victims of US atrocities

Ateneo 4 Palestine – Ateneo de Davao University Chapter Convener Allena Sofia de Castro pointed out the parallels between the situation in Palestine with the US funding the Israeli forces and the Philippines buying military arms from them.

“The same bombs bombing the Palestinians are the same bombs bombing the Lumad and Moro communities. The same guns killing the Palestinian people are the same guns killing our fellow Filipino masses.”

“Our solidarity with the Palestinians goes beyond basic empathy, it goes beyond basic boycotting. The same oppressors oppressing the Palestinians are the same oppressors oppressing the Filipino people,” De Castro added.

Al Qalam Institute Ateneo de Davao University Director Mussolini Lidasan emphasized the need to connect the local, national, and global situations, concluding that the United States bears significant responsibility for the violence in these regions. 

“Sinasabi nila [na] transitional justice can only be applied during the Manili massacre or the event from 1960s to 1990s, but there are many other massacres that happened in Mindanao. If I could go back even further, the Bud Bagsak and Bud Dajo were even worse. Who committed those massacres? The Americans. They [US] even have the face to co-host an event with us when, somehow, they themselves were responsible for killing our people.”

Lidasan expressed the need for the youth to be influenced in a way that will bring the country practical benefits rather than posing harm to its people.

“As you watch the movie, do not be radicalized in a negative way. It’s okay to be radicalized as long as you do it in a positive way, because if there is injustice, we should stand up. Don’t go to the mountains, but finish your course. That’s the only way you can fight the so-called humanitarian [abuse]; the only way to win this war.”

Learning from history

Unyon Mindanao Ambassador Zaj Hisham Mali recalled the speech of then-Philippine representative Carlos Romulo to the United Nations on the actions of today’s generation.

“Recalling the narrative of the dead Philippine Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Carlos P. Romulo, who stood his ground and initially voted against the growing parallels of the American attempt to separate Sulu from Mindanao. He opposed any partition that could divide the nation and endanger the right of people to self-determination. What does this tell us? We do not need to belong to any place, nor to any race, to feel empathy towards the people of Gaza.”

Mali also reflected on the importance of learning from history to prevent similar injustices from occurring in the future. 

“77 years had passed since that day, borders were drowned, but [with those] are deep scars that remain with us today. We are not ambassadors of any state nor are we still in 1947 [but] we simply cannot go back to the past. We are here, at this moment, with the power to amplify the voices of the oppressed… We cannot rewrite history, but we can refuse to repeat its mistakes.”

Proceeds from the event were donated to the Handala Project, represented by Lobna Abu-hamiadan, a group of Filipino and Palestinian volunteers providing humanitarian supplies and raising awareness about the Palestinian struggle.

The fundraising event was held at Bapa Benny Tudtud Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University, on October 11, 2024.