Gaza: A New Awakening in the American-Arab Youth

The Arab youth is out on the streets.

The horror pictures and stories coming out of Gaza are finally being taken notice by the international community. It is unfortunate that it took so many horrific deaths for the world to stand up for justice and speak against human right violations and war crimes.

After two weeks of protests in the Bay Area, one thing that stands out is the participation of the young American-Arabs. Although a majority of them are Muslims, it may be noted that Christians Arabs are an integral part of these protests. Interestingly, a South Asian presence can also be felt.

The assault on Gaza came at the most festive holiday season of the year. Instead of celebrating, these young teenagers and kids spent their time protesting as they watched disturbing and devastating images streaming into their living rooms and onto their computers.

This is a new generation of youth: a generation that grew up witnessing gross violation of US civil liberties, under the shadow of the Patriot Act. They grew up watching Iraq and Afghanistan being destroyed by US military weapons; they saw citizens of countries of their ancestors tortured and humiliated. Neither have they forgotten Israel’s unjustified attack on Lebanon only two years ago.

They have learnt not to trust the American mainstream media. Their source of information is alternate media like Democracy Now, YouTube or blogs; social networking through instant messaging, Facebook and other such applications. At a time when Israel banned the media from entering Gaza, these channels of communication were used effectively to broadcast the personal horror stories and images coming out of Gaza.

The youth we see on the streets today is very different from the youth in the years soon after 911 which they lived in fear, exactly the way Mr. Bush wanted them to. Today they are not afraid to speak out. They are defiant and determined to stand up for injustice. For the first few years after 911 most Muslims stayed away from political activism and limited their social activities to the mosque. A conscious decision was made to focus on Islam and Muslim issues within the US and stay away from speaking up against the atrocities being committed in countries where their roots are.

During the election campaign many discussions on mailing lists centered on why Muslims have no voice in the campaign. Some analysts concluded it was because Muslims are not part of the ‘American story’.

What is an ‘American story’? Can Americans from immigrant backgrounds really dissociate themselves from their countries of origin when their tax dollars are being used for military weapons to kill civilians in those countries?

The youth we see today protesting on the streets is an ‘American story’. They are part of the story of wars waged in their countries of origin. These kids are writing essays in schools on their perspective on Gaza, Palestine and the protests they are participating in.

Some of them joined hands with African Americans to protest against the shooting of Oscar Grant by BART officer in Oakland. The racism they witnessed against Arabs throughout the election campaign is also their ‘American story’ and they recognize the importance of standing in solidarity with other communities in their struggles.

The Arab and Muslim youth has been getting more and more organized during the past couple of years. They realize that to become part of the ‘American story’ it is important to participate in the local community and be involved in the political process.

Their participation in electing the first African American president of the U.S.A has given them new hope. They recognize the power of grass root community organization to bring about change. We can see the energy and determination in them. They will join hands with other student communities and continue to push the president for restoration of civil liberties and bring about change in foreign policy.