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Mazin Qumsiyeh<\/a>, Washington, D.C., 10 June 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n For taking time to light candles instead of cursing the darkness congratulate yourselves<\/p>\n For believing that together we can hurry up this new world<\/p>\n Congratulate yourselves<\/p>\n Believing.<\/p>\n We Palestinians never gave up believing because despite the Nakba, the catastrophe that saw the ethnic cleansing of 530 Palestinian villages and towns, and despite the Naksa that saw the occupation of the remaining 22% of Palestine, despite locking up 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners, despite the many disasters that followed…Despite all that and much much more, our people continue to struggle for freedom and surprise all by their struggle and resilience.<\/p>\n We believe because of heroic daily struggles in Bi’ilin, Bethlehem, Nablus, Jenin, Jerusalem\/AlQuds, Jaffa, al-Naqab, Nazareth, Rafah, Gaza, and Nahr ElBared. We believe because our children value education even when prevented from getting to schools; our elderly pray even when prevented from going to the mosques and churches in Jerusalem; We believe because our people still live, marry, have children, and have hope and belief in humanity against incredible odds.<\/p>\n We believe because of events planned for May 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Nakba. We believe because we are meeting in Chicago next weekend to organize the largest Palestinian American popular conference in America ever.<\/p>\n We believe because we know you will join us in these and many other events like you joined us today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We believe because of our Wheels of Justice bus tour that brought eyewitness accounts to occupations in Iraq and Palestine to 48 states, hundreds of cities and small towns, hundreds of universities and colleges, and over 200 middle and high schools.<\/p>\n We believe because, despite the strong Zionist lobby that took this country to war on Iraq and is now pushing for conflict with Iran, more and more people are saying enough is enough. Remember the USS Liberty.<\/p>\n We believe that despite this lobby’s incessant effort to silence free speech and punish those who stand for truth and justice, and even this lobby’s influence within the peace movement, we believe more and more people are joining to end the myth of segregation or “us here, them there”.<\/p>\n We believe because of the Palestinian Civil Society Call to action based on the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, the only real road map to lasting peace and the snowball of divestments, boycotts, and sanctions.<\/p>\n We believe that one day all will join to celebrate the new era in Western Asia and in America when the apartheid walls fall, when justice prevails, when refugees are repatriated, when political prisoners are released everywhere, when we celebrate our diversity of religions, languages and cultures but also more importantly our unity as human beings.<\/p>\n We believe that one day we will gather here to celebrate our freedoms from the Israeli occupation of this Congress and all other occupied territories.<\/p>\n We believe returning Palestinian Christians and Muslims and Hebrew speaking Jews who do not believe in exceptionalism will live together in a post-Zionist society in all of Palestine that will truly become a global inspiration.<\/p>\n We believe in a free United States of America and we believe in a free Palestine.<\/p>\n Free, America… Free Palestine.. Free Free Palestine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mazin Qumsiyeh, Washington, D.C., 10 June 2007 For taking time to light candles instead of cursing the darkness congratulate yourselves For believing that together we can hurry up this new world Congratulate yourselves Believing. We Palestinians never gave up believing … Continue reading