Her silence surprised me, how come the most talkative student in
my class is not commenting of participating? I got worried so I asked her about
the reason, she answered:"I cannot believe the injustice and suffering
they had to face, they were deprived of their most simple rights… Thank God it is over now." That
was her comment after learning about Rosa Parks, the African American woman who
lived in the time of segregation. Black people were not allowed to share the
same places as white ones. One day, after a very long work day, Rosa Parks
refused to give her seat to a white man. The police arresting her pushed the
people to start strikes and fight a lot until it was over. That was a huge step
in ending the discrimination and apartheid.
This story came to my mind when I heard about the new policy
adopted by the Israeli Transportation Ministry that there will be buses for
Palestinian people only. I don't want to go into details, the headlines only
were shocking enough!
I haven't seen my student in a long time, but I could imagine
the state of silence and shock she went through when she heard the news. I am
sure that she will remember our class and she will know that IT IS NOT OVER !!
They might not be African
American, but for sure every Palestinian
woman on the 'ONLY PALESTINIAN' bus reminds me of Rosa Parks. It is 2013 and we are still facing apartheid and
discrimination…. I wander what else is waiting for Palestinians ???
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