| Topic #2: Racism & National Oppression Speaker: Hatem Abudayyeh � Arab American Action Network (AAAN) Executive Director of AAAN. AAAN is a non-profit community based organization that provides social services to Arab Americans in Chicago, and seeks to empower the Arab American and Arab immigrant community through community organizing, leadership development, arts and cultural programs, etc. I was asked to speak about racism and National oppression. The term terrorism is not confined to Islamic fundamentalists. It has been used to emasculate terrorism for over 25 years. Those who are considered terrorists today were the same that were considered terrorists in the national liberation movement. Our community in Chicago has been affected greatly by S11 and the policies of Bush to repress activist communities and racially profile Arabs and South Asians. Arab Americans came under attack from racial profiling in schools, the workplace, and in mosques. The Arab community is a visible minority because, in some suburbs around Chicago, they are the only community of color among a large European community. In those suburbs, we saw the most obvious tinges of racism after 9/11. Mobs formed there with sticks and chains. This actually happened in the community. This is one of the main reasons the Arab-Muslim community is afraid to speak out and challenge the war in Afghanistan, Mexico, Palestine and everywhere else national liberation struggles are happening - political repression. Over 1000 Arabs and Muslims were detained after 9/11 for minor immigration violations. We know that those violations were never subject to imprisonment before, and because of that, these are racist attacks on our community. The FBI decided to do �voluntary� interviews with 6000 men between the ages of 18 and 35 who came from countries on the US list of terrorist-sponsoring states. The ACLU, National Lawyers� Guild, and coalitions with lawyers have stated that the questions they were asking, besides tying them with alleged terrorists, included "Have you ever been to anti-Israel protests?" and "Who do you know that organizes around Palestinian issues?" Obviously this is to isolate the community and stop us from achieving the unity that the community needs. Two major humanitarian charitable Muslim organizations were shut down and all assets seized. Those organizations send money to Palestine and other Muslim regions in the world where people are hungry and starving for humanitarian assistance. Trying to feed hungry children is being perceived by the US as helping the terrorist movement. What the US calls terrorism is actually resistance against illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land through US support. 1 person was arrested and held without bail in Detroit. Evidence was considered secret and not able to be seen by him or his lawyers. He doesn't get to see his family. He has been in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. He was originally arrested for minor immigration infractions and was transferred from Michigan to Chicago. There is no precedent for this. They did it so that they can force him to go before the Chicago grand jury. We have to ask�why this racism? Why this attack on Arabs, Muslims and the Palestinian communities? I think the answer is relatively simple. The Palestinian people are fighting for their national liberation. $5 Billion from the US that is financing Israel occupation is spent on demolition of Palestinian homes to make room for illegal Israeli settlements. In over 1 year and a half, the vast majority of Palestinians killed were civilians involved in rock throwing or in demonstrations or holding placards against Israel. Israel has had a long policy of assassinations and collective punishment against the Palestinian people. If an activist is accused, he is a target and also, his family and sometimes the whole village. 92 villages were demolished within a 2-hour period in Gaza. The reason? One of those homes may have held an activist. Broad legislation repressing activists in the US is the same type of broad legislation and broad war against the Palestinian people. We're being told that the Palestinian movement is terrorizing Israel. But we have to remember that the Israelis are living on stolen land. Now Palestinians make up the largest refugee population in the world, and they�re fighting for their land back. I'm happy to be here and am interested in speaking to a community such as yours, because when speaking to campuses their concept of land is different because they move around without having feeling for their homes. Other communities of color understand the sanctity of land and that a lot of the land was stolen from the Mexicans like the Palestinian land was stolen. This repression is not only an attack on Arabs and Muslims; it's an attack on all communities. We who are fighting for our own national liberation must tell everyone that the fight in Palestine is a legitimate one, just like we're fighting for control of our own lives and our freedom. That's why we oppose war in the Philippines, in Colombia and No to war in Palestine! |
| Go to: - Index Page - Panel #1: US �War on Terrorism� and Its Effects on Our Community Topic #1: Education & Militarization - Panel #2: International Solidarity Topic #1: Military Intervention in the Philippines Topic #2: Effects of War on Women Topic #3: US Intervention in Colombia |
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