NAT: PEOPLE CHANTING AT THE PROTEST 

VO 1 (BIRDI): THIS IS NOT AN OPINION PIECE, THIS IS A RECOUNT OF SOMEONE’S OPINIONS AND THE EVENTS HAPPENING ON THE WEST BANK. THIS IS A WAY TO ALLOW OTHERS TO SHARE THEIR STORY WITH THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON THROUGH YOU ARE HERE. I AM NOT HERE TO BE THEIR VOICE BUT TO PROJECT THEIR VOICE FROM A PLATFORM SO OTHERS MAY HEAR IT. 

VO 2 (AMYAH): ACCORDING TO REUTERS, ONE OF THE LARGEST NEWS AGENCIES IN THE WORLD, THE ORIGIN OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR IS ROOTED IN ISRAELI DEMANDS FOR SECURITY IN WHAT HAS BEEN LONG REGARDED AS A HOSTILE MIDDLE EAST AGAINST PALESTINIAN ASPIRATIONS FOR A STATE OF THEIR OWN. IN 1947, THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGREED ON A PLAN TO PARTITION PALESTINE INTO ARAB AND JEWISH STATES. THIS WAS FOR THE SAKE OF INTERNATIONAL RULE OVER JERUSALEM. JEWISH LEADERS ACCEPTED THE PLAN GIVING THEM 56 PERCENT OF PALESTINE'S LAND. THE ARAB LEAGUE REJECTED THE PROPOSAL. 

VO 3 (BIRDI): DAVID BEN-GURION, THE PRIMARY NATIONAL FOUNDER OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE STATE’S FIRST PRIME MINISTER, MADE THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL ON MAY 14, 1948. A DAY AFTER ISRAEL WAS CREATED, TROOPS FROM FIVE ARAB STATES ATTACKED. 700,000 PALESTINIANS, HALF THE ARAB POPULATION, FLED THEIR HOMES OR WERE DRIVEN OUT. IT WAS KNOWN BY PALESTINIANS AS THE ‘NAKBA’, OR CATASTROPHE. THE FIGHTING STOPPED IN 1949 BUT THERE WAS NO FORMAL PEACE.

VO 4 (AMYAH): THE MASSACHUSETTS PEACE ACTION IS A STATEWIDE AFFILIATE THAT BEGAN IN THE 1980S AS MASSACHUSETTS FREEZE, AN AFFILIATE OF THE NATIONWIDE NUCLEAR WEAPONS FREEZE CAMPAIGN. SINCE THEN, THE ORGANIZATION HAS NOT ONLY CONTINUED ITS DISARMAMENT WORK BUT HAS ALSO EXPANDED ITS FOCUS TO ACHIEVE AN END TO UNITED STATES WARS, INTERVENTIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND SANCTIONS. 

VO 5 (BIRDI): IN 2023, MASSACHUSETTS PEACE ACTION RECOGNIZED THREE CAMPAIGNS AS THEIR UTMOST CONCERNS– UKRAINE: A TIME FOR PEACE, WARNING OF THE TWIN EXISTENTIAL THREATS OF NUCLEAR WAR AND CLIMATE CHANGE, AND FUND THE PEOPLE, NOT THE PENTAGON. IN OCTOBER OF 2023, IT ADDED THE GAZA-ISRAEL PEACE CAMPAIGN. 

VO 6 (AMYAH): ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, MASSACHUSETTS PEACE ACTION HELPED TO ORGANIZE A PROTEST CALLED MARCH FOR PALESTINE AGAINST WARMAKERS AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, STARTING AT THE TRAIN STOP AT THE ROXBURY CROSSING STOP. ACCORDING TO THE MASSACHUSETTS PEACE ACTION WEBSITE, THE EVENT WAS A CALL FOR A STOP TO THE BOMBING IN YEMEN, LEBANON, AND SYRIA – A CEASEFIRE NOW IN THE MIDDLE EAST – AND A STOP TO THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA. 

VO 7 (BIRDI):  THE ORGANIZATION ALSO CALLED FOR AN END TO ALL UNITED STATES AID TO ISRAEL, A STOP TO LAND GRABS, A BOYCOTT OF THE ISRAELI APARTHEID, AND A STOP TO THE GENTRIFICATION IN ROXBURY. 

VO 8 (AMYAH): PROTESTORS GATHERED AT THE ROXBURY CROSSING TRAIN STOP AND THEN MARCHED DOWN THE STREET WITH PALESTINIAN FLAGS AND HOMEMADE SIGNS. THEY CARRIED BOTH THEIR BACKPACKS AND THEIR VOICES TO REACH ALL CORNERS OF THE STREETS THEY FLOODED. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO ATTENDED CAME FROM A DIFFERENT WALK OF LIFE AND, EVEN WITH THE MANY PERSPECTIVES, THEY STILL CAME TOGETHER FOR ONE SINGULAR MESSAGE: TO STOP THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR. 

VO 9 (BIRDI): AN UNNAMED VIETNAM WAR VETERAN, A PROTESTOR WHO WAS HANDING OUT HOMEMADE STICKERS AND INFORMATION SHEETS AT THE EVENT, SHARED HIS OPINIONS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THE CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST THROUGH THE LENS OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS EXPERIENCED THE VIOLENCE AND HARDSHIPS OF WAR FIRSTHAND. 

SOT 1: I'M HERE TO SUPPORT SELF-DETERMINATION FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. I THINK THAT ISRAEL IS INVOLVED IN ETHNIC CLEANSING. AND THE GOAL. THE EVENTUAL GOAL OF THE ISRAELI REGIME IS TO DRIVE ALL THE PALESTINIANS OUT OF THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP. THEY HAVE A STEP-BY-STEP PLAN FOR DOING THAT. IT INVOLVES ETHNIC CLEANSING. IT INVOLVES BRUTAL REPRESSION. AND IT INVOLVES GENOCIDE.

SOT 2: IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG HAUL. I'M SORRY TO TELL YOU THAT. I'M A VETERAN OF THE VIETNAM DAYS. AND I KNEW DAMN WELL WOULDN'T BE MY LAST WAR. 

VO 10 (AMYAH): MICHELLE, A PROTESTER AT THE EVENT EXPLAINS THAT THIS IS THE 10TH PROTEST SHE HAS BEEN TO IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. SHE HELD A SIGN STATING, “REJECT THE EMERGENCY FUNDING BILL,” AS SHE STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE GETTING INVOLVED.

SOT 3: “MAYBE IT’S EASY TO LOOK AWAY, PRETEND IT’S NOT HAPPENING. BUT I THINK, I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS THE JOURNALISM HAPPENING IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. IN THE 21ST CENTURY I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD TAKE A LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE AND SHOULD BE PART OF THIS TO TRY AND STOP IT.”

SOT 4: “WITHOUT THE US’ SUPPORT THE GENOCIDE WOULD NOT GO ON, THE WAR WOULD NOT GO ON. WE NEED TO REALLY STAND UP TO — TO FORCE TO STOP THE GENOCIDE.”

VO 11 (BIRDI): ANNA IS A STUDENT AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, AMONG  MANY OTHERS AT THE PROTEST. SHE PUTS EMPHASIS ON THE AMOUNT OF INJUSTICES OCCURRING AT HER SCHOOL TOWARDS PALESTINIAN STUDENTS, OR THOSE IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINE.

SOT 5: “SO WE ESPECIALLY WANTED TO COME OUT TOO BECAUSE OUR SCHOOL HAS BEEN, LIKE RECOMMENDING APPREHENDING STUDENTS AND PUNISHING THEM FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST PALESTINE, ORGANIZING FOR PALESTINE JUST TRYING TO GET OUT OF SCHOOL. SO WE WANTED TO COME OUT AND SUPPORT THEM AS WELL AND WE'RE REALLY ANGRY THAT OUR SCHOOL IS TAKING THIS KIND OF ACTION AGAINST PALESTINIAN STUDENTS.”

VO 12 (AMYAH): ANNA'S FRIEND AND CLASSMATE AUTUMN WALKED ALONGSIDE HER HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER FOR A GOOD CAUSE. 

SOT 6: “STRENGTH IN NUMBERS YOU KNOW? IT’S LESS SCARY WHEN YOU DO IT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. IT GIVES YOU STRENGTH, IT GIVES YOU HOPE, IT GIVES YOU EMPATHY. SEEING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ALSO SEEING THE SAME THINGS YOU ARE SEEING,”

VO 13 (BIRDI): WITH A LAST REMARK, ANNA ENCOURAGES OTHERS TO BECOME INVOLVED THROUGH SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS JUST BEING MINDFUL.

SOT 7: “A REALLY SIMPLE THING SOME PEOPLE CAN DO IS DO SOME BRIEF RESEARCH TO SEE WHAT, LIKE THE WAYS WE’RE SPENDING MONEY BECAUSE WE’RE ALWAYS SPENDING MONEY. AND TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE PURCHASING FROM WHERE YOU’RE BUYING FOOD, WHERE THEY’RE PURCHASING FROM,”

VO 14 (AMYAH): FOR YOU ARE HERE, I’M AMYAH BISHOP.

VO 15 (BIRDI): AND I’M BIRDI DIEHL.