Since 1948 Nakba, Palestinians are resisting the colonial aggression from Israel over the cost of their lives. From the past decades, the intensity of violence by Israel appears to be briskly increasing. Israeli aerial bombardment of Palestine, especially in Gaza, has taken many lives of innocent Palestinians. For example, the 2008-09 air attacks and ground invasion by Israel led to at least 1100 Palestinian deaths. The 2014 air attack and ground invasion resulted in 2100 killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The aerial, sea and land bombardment that happened in recent weeks of May 2021 ended with the killing of , 254 including 39 women and 66 children in Gaza. These numbers are important to reveal the extent of violence and brutality on Palestinians by Israeli occupation and its bombardment, but it should not diminish other aspects of the daily struggle of those Palestinians who live under siege and occupation of Israeli forces. Apart from these killings and air attacks, Palestinians resist, struggle and experience everyday aggression, restrictions and sanctions that affect their economy, well being, health and every aspect of their life. The most vulnerable among them are children and women. This episode of Global Development Review Podcast thus focuses on the life and struggles in Gaza and learns from the lens and perspective of a Palestinian woman, from her lived experiences.
I requested Rana Shubair to share her experience, perspective and reflections about life and struggles in Gaza. Rana Shubair is a survivor of latest aggression of 2021 in Gaza strip. She is an activist, mother of three, and author of two books. Her first book ‘‘In Gaza I Dare to Dream’, recounts details of her own life under Israeli Occupation, aggression and the Gaza Siege. She presents Gaza as ‘a land where joy and grief are entwined, yet its people dare to dream, dare to love and struggle to gain their basic human rights’. Her second book “My Lover Is A Freedom Fighter” is a historical fiction that reflects about romance in Palestine while living under occupation. (you can know more about Rana and read her blog articles at: https://www.ranashubair.com/about/)
In this podcast, I interviewed Rana with an aim to learn and express my solidarity with the people of Palestine by sharing the life and struggle of an ordinary Palestinian to a global audience, through her narrative and experience. While her narrative and personal experiences are heartfelt and reflect deeply about the hardship of Palestinians in present times that ranges from homelessness to education to health to economy etc. in this interview, yet her interview also reflects how Palestinians express their agency, and determine their resilience and their power of resistance.
Her interview talks about history of Palestine and Israel’s occupation, a life of an ordinary Palestinian in present times, role and struggles of Palestinian women with ongoing resistance, Palestinian’s perspective on ongoing colonial tactics of Israel, and she also reflects the level of oppression that Palestinians are experiencing, and she also suggests how global community can support the people of Palestine.
Please subscribe and follow this podcast for future episodes and updates. You can also follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/podcast_gdr) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/gdr.podcast).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
