Women's voices in the global shout: A20-DC

Swept along by the current of bodies coursing through D.C.'s streets on an unseasonably steamy April morning, I found myself floundering in a welcome-if bewildering-rush of movements and messages and meanings. To my left marched a young woman, her hair tucked beneath a light blue veil. To my right marched a young man, his glowing green mohawk arching high across his scalp. Out front and behind and all around rushed many others-black-clad anti-capitalists bearing buckets of apples to fortify their ranks; pro-peace street dancers swaying ecstatically to the rhythm of rattles and drums; American Jews raising signs and shouts against Israeli occupation of Palestinian land; American Arabs waving Palestinian flags and hoisting symbolic victims on stretchers high above their heads; parents and children and women and men and young and old and...and...and-- so many faces and so many stories, each one projecting a presence and a voice. And yet somehow, in some way, they did so together.

On April 19-- 22, people from around the country converged on Washington for a weekend of mobilization, education, and action. Individuals and groups eager to bring a spectrum of messages to the nation's capital gathered for conferences, teach-ins, training workshops, benefit performances, vigils, rallies, and marches. A quick perusal of weekend fliers and calendars of events revealed a wide range of causes; organizers and supporters of a burgeoning anti-- war movement, expanding anti-- capitalist globalization movement, and enduring civil liberties movement shared the streets with those pushing for solidarity with the Palestinians and those pushing against Plan Colombia and the School of the Americas. As someone who was energized by and caught up in many of the weekend's messages, I found myself seeking out a unifying framework in which to situate them all. Surrounded by so many impassioned pleas for awareness and justice and change, I longed to see them shouted through a shared bullhorn, their reverberations echoing all the louder and traveling all the further for their combined strength. And, as a woman who was energized also by women's presence and power in the converging movements, I sought to locate them-and myself-in this wider framework, to discern our voices in the common shout.

Pick a cause, any cause. In certain cynical circles, that seemed the most apt catchphrase of the "A20" weekend. Organizers were both aware of and sensitive to such surface simplification and dismissal. Indeed, some, including those affiliated with International Students for Solidarity in Palestine and the Berkeley Global Justice Coalition, took action to explain a deeper, more integrated picture. With the endorsement of the Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People, these two groups co-sponsored a student and activist conference at American University called "Global Intifada, April 19, 2002: Globalization, U.S. Militarism, and the Struggle for Justice in Palestine." Held on the eve of A20, as proponents of various causes began to converge and coordinate, the conference offered a logical launching point for the weekend. Its central objective was to bring activists together and impart a message of common cause. Specifically, organizers aimed to highlight the Palestinian struggle for human rights and self-determination and to situate it within the wider struggle for justice on a global scale. They sought first to encourage informative discussion through workshops on capitalist globalization, indigenous struggles, Palestinian solidarity campaigns, U.S. aid to Israel, and U.S. militarization and second, to provide practical activist training through sessions on legal rights, street medicine, and direct action.

Speakers at the conference's opening plenary offered a conceptual framework for the workshops that followed as well as for the A20 weekend. They not only discussed the Palestinian situation, but also explained how it paralleled past and present struggles, both in the United States and elsewhere. Several of the strongest, clearest voices doing the explaining and drawing the connections were those of female activists. They included Josina Manu, a Jewish-- American member of the International Solidarity Movement, an organization that combats Israeli occupation of Palestinian land through non-violent direct action. Manu recently spent two weeks in Bethlehem's Al-Azza refugee camp, where she and other ISM members delivered food and acted as human shields to protect Palestinians from Israeli fire. Condemning Zionism as part of a wider "imperialist agenda," she urged conference-goers to become part of an active, countervailing force by using the Internet, writing letters, and giving voice to the Palestinian plight.

Rania Masri, coordinator of the Iraq Action Coalition, likewise sounded a call to action. She decried mainstream media's obsession "with the lives of the rich and the immensely forgettable," casting it as part of a wider "conspiracy of the powerful against the less powerful." Recounting her experience as a member of the Palestinian delegation to this year's World Social Forum in Porte Alegre, Brazil, she spoke of throngs of people singing the same messages in many languages. With fervent conviction, she declared herself "pro-globalization"-that is, when "globalization" denotes dismantling the barriers that divide rather than "screwing the masses to empower the rich." Masri, like her co-- speakers, was eager to unite all those gathered. She described a common fight on behalf of peoples and groups relegated to society's margins, proclaiming, "Our specific struggle is linked to the global struggle, and it's all linked."

Just as the present urgency of the Palestinian situation propelled it to the fore of the Global Intifada conference, so did it carry the day during the climax of the A20 weekend-- Saturday's marches and rallies. The Palestinian Solidarity March began at the Washington Hilton and proceeded downtown to converge with the Mobilization for Global Justice rally at the IMF and World Bank. Both groups then continued as one to Freedom Plaza, where they joined forces with the A20 Student Mobilization March and forged ahead to a post-march rally at the U.S. Capitol. They were joined along the way by those marching with the International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition, a group that played a central role in A20 mobilization and which opened the day with a demonstration on the National Mall, just south of the White House.

If this all sounds confusing, no need to fret over the details-a feeling for the overall scene on the streets tells the story far better than a map of march routes. Tens of thousands joined together in an impassioned show of conviction and an urgent call to action. People of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs converged to challenge U.S. foreign policy and the global status quo and to demand justice at home and abroad. Although different groups rallied around different causes, most appeared eager to express solidarity with those marching on behalf of Palestinian rights and self-determination. Indeed, the red, black, and green of Palestinian flags filled the streets, and shouts of "Free, free Palestine!" and "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The Occupation's gotta go!" echoed through the air.

Once again, women were at the forefront of the action. Among them was Leah Harris, an American Jew who helped organized a "Jewish bloc" to participate in Saturday's events. For Harris, who claims to have been raised "with very strong Zionist ideals," such activism reflected acquired rather than imparted convictions. Her studies, coupled with firsthand observation of Palestinian plight during travels in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, caused her to question what she had learned growing up. "It was a combination of seeing these things for myself and learning about all sides of the conflict that made me realize that I, as a Jewish person and an American, had a moral obligation to speak out as loudly as I possibly could and advocate for a just peace in Israel and Palestine," she asserted. At present, this means working with organizations such as Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel and Women in Black as well as with coalitions of Palestinian groups.

Harris does not view her activism on behalf of Palestinians in isolation, but rather, as part of a more general commitment to confront oppression in its varied forms. "I think that the fight to make sure that vulnerable human beings are protected from gross abuses by those in power is part of a larger fight against oppression and authoritarianism, whether on a local or global level," she explained. Moreover, she expressed a deep awareness of her identity as a female activist, stating, "I see parallels between sharing a Palestinian voice and a female voice, because I reject the notion that women here are more liberated than women in the `third world'. . .We have to join together as sisters to oppose all forms of oppression and patriarchy and not see this as a `we liberated women have to liberate those oppressed women over there' type of struggle."

Isis Nusair, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who left Nazareth in 1993 to attend graduate school in the United States, likewise sees a connection between her identity as a woman and her identity as an activist. After having worked in the women's rights division of Human Rights Watch for three years, Nusair recently received a fellowship and will soon begin full-- time work on her dissertation-a project centered around three generations of Palestinian women. A founding member of the locally-based Arab American Feminist Forum, she stressed the need to integrate feminist theory and feminist practice. Further, she emphasized the value of reaching out to new audiences and making connections within the wider global justice movement. Those advocating on behalf of Palestinians should do so "not just to get support, but to give support as well," she stated. During "A22," demonstrations held on Monday to coincide with the annual AIPAC policy conference, Nusair joined up with members of SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now) to perform street theater along Florida Avenue. Dressed as Israeli tanks "paid for by American tax dollars," performers drew attention to U.S. complicity in Israeli military action.

The depth of dedication seen in Harris and Nusair clearly extends beyond one weekend of marches and rallies-however impressive that weekend proved. Similarly, the enduring efforts of others to heighten awareness and create change were on display even after Washington's streets had quieted. One example of many could be found on Sunday morning at All Souls Church, where a small crowd gathered for a public dialog called "A Gandhian Approach to the Palestinian-- Israeli Conflict." As speakers Hanan Elmasu and Ibrahim Sharquieh discussed the cruelty of Israeli occupation and the possibilities for non-violent resistance, the theme of global justice and-global interconnectedness surfaced yet again. Discussion centered not only on pervasive oppression, but also on what regional and international conditions must prevail in order to render a "Gandhian" response to such oppression relevant.

And, yet again, women played a leading role. Elmasu, herself a Palestinian, advocates on behalf of Palestinian human rights at the Geneva offices of the United Nations. Prior to assuming her current position, she was based in the West Bank, where she worked with various human rights organizations to document violations and promote change. Joining her in Sunday's dialog were female audience members with their own activist experiences to share. At eighty-three years of age, Trudy Morris has spent much of her life fighting for civil and human rights-a fight that carried her down the street to Capitol Hill and oceans away to China, Israel, and South Africa. "Since as early as age sixteen, I have been a committed pacifist activist," she stated. At present, this means helping to organize musical performances by Arab and Israeli musicians as well as inter-faith activities for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, It also means passing on a legacy-earlier this year, her daughter Sarah Morse and granddaughter Maury traveled to Israel and the West Bank on a trip organized by Rabbis for Human Rights. They spent eight days visiting Palestinians, planting olive trees, and touring the remains of demolished homes. Now, back in Washington, Sarah talks to as many people as she can, eager to open minds and nurture tolerance within her community.

And so, during the course of the A20 weekend, I heard many voices-- not all saying the same thing and not all bringing the same beliefs and backgrounds to bear. Yet, amidst the many messages and movements and meanings, a unifying framework did in fact emerge. Organizers and participants drew together in their determination to show that difference and diversity need not divide. And women's voices, though part of the whole, were at all points powerful and clear. Their message was one of strength through convergence: the struggle of one is the struggle of all in the shared search for a more just, more peaceful world.

by dana hearn

Copyright Off Our Backs, Inc. Aug/Sep 2002
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