Michigan in Color
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Fifty Palestinian flags rose upon Kamala Harris’s arrival
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 — 7
University of Michigan students,
led by a Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality initiative, gathered in
protest of Vice President Kamala
Harris’s arrival at the University
on Thursday. Protestors assembled
in front of Hill Auditorium and
marched
towards
Rackham
Auditorium — the site of Harris’s
speech — waving Palestinian flags
and voicing chants that challenged
the Biden-Harris administration’s
unwavering support for the state of
Israel.
“Not another nickel! Not another
dime!
No more money for Israel’s
crimes!”
The White House previously
announced that the Vice President
would be in Ann Arbor to partake
in a discussion “highlighting the
Biden-Harris
Administration’s
historic and ongoing work to
combat the climate crisis.” Students
took this opportunity to bring
attention to the ongoing crisis in
Palestine that has recently included
Israel’s national security minister,
Itamar Ben-Gvir, ordering a ban
on public display of the Palestinian
flag — confirming the far-right
Israeli government’s commitment
to furthering the erasure of the
Palestinian identity. Additionally,
students brought attention to the
hypocrisy of climate efforts that
are made in conjunction with
supporting the Israeli occupation’s
continuous
disservice
to
the
climate.
For decades, trees have uniquely
symbolized
the
hostility
of
settler colonialism on Palestinian
land: with native, time-honored
Palestinian
olive
trees
being
forcibly uprooted to make way
for exported pine trees, Israeli
settlements and the infamous
Apartheid wall. Extending over 700
kilometers wide, Israel’s West Bank
Wall, also known as the Israeli
Apartheid wall, is a pivotal point in
the conversation of climate change,
as it serves as a cruel, tangible
reminder of the violent annexation
of Palestinian land. This barrier,
deemed illegal by the International
Court of Justice in 2004, required
the removal of thousands of olive
trees. As it continues to expand,
piercing through the once fertile
land beneath it, it is threatening
biodiversity
and
fragmenting
ecosystems.
The Apartheid wall surrounding
the West Bank does not stand alone,
as its implications stretch across to
the Mediterranean coast, where
Gaza exists as the “largest open air
prison in the world.” Surrounded
by
a
65-kilometer
iron
wall,
Palestinians in Gaza stand helpless
in the face of Israeli bombardment
through airstrikes and violent
warfare that sometimes includes
chemical weapons such as depleted
uranium and white phosphorus
— which both have long-standing
repercussions on environmental
pollution.
Decades of power imbalances
and land control have proven
that Israeli control of Palestinian
identity and livelihood goes hand
in hand with their disregard for
the land that Palestinians are
indigenous to. And as the United
States continues to funnel money
into these efforts, they are further
fueling the climate crisis that they
claim to be addressing.
Since World War II, Israel
has been the largest recipient of
foreign aid from the United States,
with foreign military financing
exceeding $3 billion under the
Biden-Harris
administration.
This money is a key enabler of
Israeli colonial projects, which
are
simultaneously
displacing
Palestinians and causing indelible
destruction
to
the
climate.
And
with
Israel’s
ecological
footprint
reportedly
exceeding
its biocapacity, it is absolutely
crucial that their strategic efforts
to
greenwash
their
military
occupation are exposed.
The United States has long been
complicit in Israeli abuses of land
and people alike, but the Biden-
Harris administration has the
power to end this cycle.
Standing outside of Rackham
Auditorium on Thursday, students
were calling on Harris to end her
support for the greenwashing of
this colonial entity.
“Kamala, Kamala don’t you
know?
Greenwashing has got to go!”
The Israeli claim of having
“made
the
desert
bloom”
is
transparently false, and it is time
for the international community to
introduce accountability into what
has long been misconstrued as a
conflict.
Joseph Fisher is a sophomore
at the University, and has been a
member of SAFE for the last year.
He currently serves as activism
chair for the SAFE board.
“Kamala claims to care about
the environment, but continues to
approve thousands of new oil and
gas drilling permits, which further
climate change, disrupt habitats
and place nearby populations at
risk for a wide range of diseases,”
Fisher said.
This sentiment is shared by many
other members of SAFE, who were
waving their Palestinian flags high
in the air and standing in solidarity
with Palestinians who are being
penalized for doing the same.
“Palestinians
will
not
be
moved,” said Noor O. Sami, a junior
at the University, currently serving
as SAFE’s education director. “No
colonial law will ever make us
abandon our flag or our land. From
Jerusalem to Gaza, from Akka
to Jenin — our flag will fly until
Palestine is free.”
MARYAM
SHAFIE-KHORASSANI
MiC Columnist
Maryam Shafie-Khorassani/MiC
Chittagong at a standstill, a photo essay
When I was younger, I would go to great lengths to explain how
similar Bangladeshi society was to Canadian society. In my mind, that
was how I was supposed to assimilate. Life in Canada was supposed
to look like it did in the TV shows that played as I did homework. I
despised aspects of my life that were defined by my Bengali culture. It
was always about trying to make my Bengali identity more Canadian,
never the other way around. I thought I could clear similarities by
making comparisons. I fell into a habit of making Bangladesh and
Bangladeshi culture more palatable for people whom I didn’t need to
cater toward.
Looking back, my bad.
The two cultures are different; they’re supposed to be. The question
was never about whether Bangladeshi culture was different — I knew
it was, I just didn’t want it to be. The question was whether the culture
was as different, destitute and coarse as the media painted it to be.
It wasn’t.
During a recent trip home, I decided to take portraits and pictures of
people and places around my neighborhood in Chittagong, Bangladesh,
taking my time to talk to those I photographed. We simply talked, not
about anything in particular, but I caught onto snippets about aspects
of their lives they decided were worth sharing with me.
I am from Chittagong, Bangladesh. Through these pictures, I am
intentionally showcasing life in Bangladesh through my eyes, not
trying to represent a whole culture, country or community. It is me,
showcasing a singular moment of time, through a singular person’s
eyes, not necessarily telling other people’s stories but providing a space
for the lives they decided to showcase when talking to me. I am merely
translating.
With that being said, here are the pictures. As you go through them,
note that the pictures are not meant to be a series of generalizations.
They are meant to provide an opportunity to understand the intricacies
of the people and livelihood in Bangladesh.
ALIFA CHOWDHURY
MiC Columnist
Rahim was the first person I met on my walk. My conversation with
Rahim was short. His son worked at the garments factory down the
road –– he spoke of him with great pride. “My son works at the factory
down the road, he asked me if I wanted to join. I said no.” I asked him
why. “Well, I like it here. I’ve been doing this all my life.” He then
talked about his welding work, asked me if I knew how it worked and
proceeded to show me. I compared it to glass welding, which he also
knew how to do.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Chittagong is known for its greenery, a beautiful place to witness it
all is D.C. Hill Park, which is where I met Rubel. He worked alongside
his dad in the park. “This is my father’s business. I just come here on
the weekends,” Rubel said. I asked him if he liked working with his
dad. “Yeah, for the most part, the machine breaks down time to time
though. I can fix it most days.” We talked about the number of people
that visit the park each day, both agreeing that the crowd can get
overwhelming. The park remains his favorite part of the city, though.
A few miles away from the park is Chittagong’s famous port.
Chittagong is a port city, the industrial capital of the nation. I met
Abdul there; he was selling sugarcane. He said they were from his
village, four hours away. Abdul and I talked about the port behind
him. We both spoke of it with a sense of pride. “The port is a
Chittagong staple,” he said.
“It’s why I set up shop here.”
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Alifa Chowdhury/MiC