by Nathan Stuckey
One year ago Vittorio Arrigoni was
murdered. Since coming to Gaza, Vik, as everyone knew him, had been a
regular at Beit Hanoun’s weekly demonstrations against the no go zone
and the occupation. Vik had devoted his life to ending the occupation.
Sadly, he did not live to see his goal accomplished. The people of
Beit Hanoun have not given up though, they continue to demonstrate, they
continue to risk their lives every Tuesday in demonstrations against
the occupation. This week, the demonstration was in memory of Vik.
We gathered at the same place we have
gathered for the last three years, on the road outside the half
destroyed Beit Hanoun Agricultural College. The early arrivals seated
on a low stone bench beside a wall on the east side of the road.
Finally, the t shirts arrived, in memory of Vik we had prepared t shirts
with his photo for everyone to wear. People quickly pulled the shirts
over their own and we gathered in the road. Bella Ciao started to play
over the megaphone. Young men with flags and a large photo of Vik led
the procession toward the no go zone. How many times had Vik taken this
walk with these people? We marched into the no go zone, we made our
way down the paths that our previous demonstrations had worn through
shoulder high thistles. No one is allowed in the no go zone on pain of
death, people are shot for even being close to the no go zone. Want was
once some of the most productive farmland in Gaza, home to large
orchards, has been reduced to a giant field of thistles. The houses
that used to do the no go zone have all been ground to dust under the
treads of bulldozers. The ethnic cleansing that gained steam after the
massacre of Deir Yassin on April 9, 1948 has never stopped in Palestine;
the land we walked on was a land that had been ethnically cleansed.
We stopped at the ditch that bisects the
no zone. The flags that we had left on previous demonstrations almost
hidden by thistles, the photos Rachel Corrie and Hana Shalabi were
gone. Sabur Zaaneen from the Local Initiative of Beit Hanoun spoke,
“From Rome, to Chicago, to Ireland, people remember Vittorio, he is not
forgotten and the struggle to which he devoted his life will continue
until the occupation disappears.” When he finished the crowd broke out
in chanting, “Vittorio is not dead,” “Vittorio is with the fisherman,
Vittorio is with the farmers.” Rosa, an Italian activist spoke,
“Vittorio is still with us, I know this, I feel it even more strongly
today, I feel it every time I go out with the fisherman.” Derrick, an
Irish activist spoke, “Vittorio was a giant, and not just in size, when
he spoke you had to listen.” I pray that the world listens, for what
Vittorio said again and again is a vital message, the occupation must
end, we must have justice, Israeli crimes must not be allowed to
continue. There really isn’t much more to say, every week we gather for
this protest, and everything that we say is basically a repeat of that,
the occupation must end, we must have justice. This we say, only this.
Nathan Stuckey is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement.
