Dinner Dialogue

Dear editors, 

Call to action:

Palestinians in Gaza are in dire need of eSims! eSims allow for families to stay in touch with their loved ones to make sure they’re still okay, especially during internet outages. Also, according to @connectinghumanity_ on Instagram, without eSims, journalists and civilians on the ground can’t report what is happening. Without the efforts of these very journalists and civilians, it’s very likely we would not have known about the flour massacre that took place on the 29th of February or seen how the U.S. sent expired and non-halal food as “aid,” if people hadn’t had internet access via eSims.

The eSims come in a range of prices-– with just 4$ you can buy 1GB of data on Simly (the average person uses about 5-10 GB a month). There’s no point in reading what I have written below if we as a community don’t take action. Palestinians at Reed and beyond have been asking for us to show up in tangible ways, so this is the least we can do. Step-by-step directions can be found at gazaesims.com

On the 6th of March Reed hosted the Spring 2024 Dinner Dialogue, which was an event meant to foster connection, healing, and community. During this event, speakers from the Reed administration, namely Audrey Bilger, kept referring to how the campus is divided and how this is such a tough time without ever directly naming why. We’ve witnessed Palestinians at Reed and beyond show up to work and class having to act as if everything is fine only to see that the Reed Administration is foolishly dancing around the topic. Offbeat, too. The elephant was practically squealing in the room as speakers from administration talked about the importance of community dialogue. There is a genocide taking place in Gaza, Falasteen, and our administration has been silent. Since this semester began nine weeks ago, only one of my professors has spoken about the genocide taking place while in a classroom setting. Some professors, despite their Ph.D.’s in Oppression™, assigned readings on Indigenous sovereignty, and land acknowledgments tacked on at the end of their syllabi, have skirted around the subject. Do Indigenous people only matter to you when they make you feel better about your settler anxieties? Or do they only matter once you get to read about them in a book 400 years after settler-colonial violence has tried to erase their existence? Which one is it? Circle your answer, and read the questions again if you need to.

If the Reed Administration refuses to take immediate tangible action, they are no different than their predecessors who refused to divest from the Apartheid regime in South Africa. According to Quest Vol. LXXXV issue 2 (February 5th, 1985), “…approximately $4.296 million of Reed’s endowment was invested in corporations with ties to the apartheid regime.” Incoming students, especially Palestinian students, deserve to know the kind of duplicitous institution they’re up against. Reed projects a progressive image, but it's only after being here for some time that we see it’s a mirage. The administration doesn't get to ignore Palestinians’ pleas for help and then turn around with a half-assed land acknowledgment. Our struggles as Indigenous people living in the United States empire are deeply connected to the plight of Palestinians. Administration and their leader Audrey Bilger, have feigned care for long enough. 

How is it that the one time you met with a Palestinian student, they left your office upset because you continuously referred to the genocide taking place as a “conflict?”  How is it that you have no shame, morals, or backbone, Audrey Bilger?

Gazans have been saying possibly their last words ever, in English, in the hopes that those of us in the West are listening and will do something. Palestinians across the diaspora have had to witness the most horrific images and videos coming out of Gaza and act like nothing is going on because institutions, including Reed, won’t give them the time to grieve or process. And despite all of that, they still carry on. Their love, their commitment, and their activism is endlessly inspiring. I walk beside them as we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, constantly remembering where we come from and where we’re going*.

Until you can treat Palestinians with the respect they deserve, keep our names out of your mouth. Stop the pandering, and cut the bullshit.

من النهر إلى البحر فلسطين ستتحرر

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

• Bent Chaouïa 

Edited by fleur, J, L, N, and Seo-ah.

*This last phrase was coined by JoDe Goudy.