On Sunday, 18th January 2009, I attended the “Save The Palestinians Campaign” which was organized by the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs Against Persecution Of Palestinians or COMPLETE (http://completemalaysia.blogspot.com). The event was held at the Bangsar Sports Complex.
The campaign was attended by many Malaysians committed to a unifying cause: To stop the violence in Palestine and the arbitrary killings of unarmed men, women, and children.
What was a true eye opener in the rally was that the attendees of the campaign was not restricted to just Muslims. The Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), Friends-In-Conversation and other non-muslim organizations joined in supporting this humanitarian cause. My personal thanks to Eugene Ong, Rev Sivin Kit, Irene Fernandez, Monsieur Goh Keat Peng and others who share the desire for real and surviving peace in the Middle East.
I cannot begin to imagine what the Gazans had to go through during the bombing, and period following it. But the pictures of children half buried in rubbles and homes totally destroyed are enough to make anyone -muslims and non-muslims alike- shake their heads and ask: Can we remain silent any longer?
My answer is this: Every little thing you do counts. Give generously in donations, stay informed – try and attend talks about the crises and meet up with your friends to discuss what other ways can be done to stop the unwarranted aggression against innocent civilians. The unilateral pullout does not guarantee the violence and inhumane blockade ends.
