Seventy-three years post-Nakba, Palestinian voices are finally being broadcasted to a world that they believed had long abandoned them.
The Nakba is widely known amongst Levantine, and the wider Arab world, as a day to mourn and to grieve. Catastrophe, its English translation, encompasses the displacement, violence, and bloodshed inflicted upon the Palestinian people enabled by dismissive leaders and insufficient international support since May 15th, 1948.
For many Arab nations, the recognition of a state that was comprised of European colonial settlers indicated a Western foothold in the region; though Israel’s strength in numbers and arms has grown throughout the decades, it was clear that there would be no true sovereignty for the Palestinian people since the Peel Commission. Academics, activists, and peacemakers dedicated their lives to a cause so often deemed futile and frictionless by its proponents as media channels neglected the mounting casualties and destruction.
Under such oppression, the morale of the oppressed is expected to fade. However, since the first commemoration of the Nakba -a day that was once recognized and respected by all Arab nations- it was clear that the resistance would fight on, in all capacities and across continents.
“I used to think of the Nakba as a depressing day because it usually reminds me that I am not in my home country. However, after what we are witnessing today, and through digital activism, I believe there is hope to return to Palestine. Palestinians all around the world are on a strike against the occupation of Palestine,” said Palestinian Activist Samer Loubani.
According to another Palestinian activist Sari Sabatin, this year is critical and vital for three main reasons.
“First of all, more people across the globe are supporting the Palestinian cause. Second, today’s resistance in Palestine has raised awareness around the cause and people are more curious to ask about it. Last but not least, digital activism has contributed to exposing the violence of the Israeli occupation,” said Sabatin.
Exactly seventy-three years later, Palestine is still resisting its oppressors. This time, the vast and unprecedented power of social media has yielded a twist in the narrative that once dominated public consciousness, a narrative that has allowed for violence and repression to proliferate further and deeper into Palestinian life. Two years ago, the Balfour Declaration’s centennial revisited the conflict with fruitless outcomes; now, history is being re-written through the debris left by Israeli missiles and the escalating number of Palestinian deaths, both of which are recorded and decimated through primary witnesses on the ground, making it difficult to dispute the facts: Gaza is under attack, again. With the endless reach of viral footage and digestible slideshow posts being shared around from one social media user to another, this Nakba does not go unnoticed or unheard.
“Today, we are much more hopeful. Today, we are several steps closer to return to our land,” said Sabatin.