Act in SP in support of Palestine calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Hundreds of people participated this Saturday (13) in an event in support of the Palestinian people in São Paulo. The walk began in front of the São Paulo Museum of Art (Masp), on Avenida Paulista, and continued to Praça Roosevelt, in the center of the capital of São Paulo.

During the act, the protesters extended a huge Palestinian flag and banners that called for an end to the genocide in Gaza and also an embargo on Israel.

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The demonstration in São Paulo is one of dozens of events taking place in different parts of the world today (featured photo of the event in Denmark). “It’s happening in 73 cities around the world. Here in Brazil it is happening in several capitals. It is a global act for an immediate and definitive ceasefire in Gaza in the face of the ongoing genocide that has lasted almost 100 days”, explained Soraya Misleh, Palestinian-Brazilian journalist and coordinator of the Front in Defense of the Palestinian People in São Paulo.

In an interview with Brazil Agency, Soraya said that the situation in Gaza “is terrible and dramatic”. “We have a situation there of military occupation, colonization, ethnic cleansing and apartheid that have been recognized even by Amnesty International for more than 75 years,” he emphasized. “This has never stopped and is now moving into a new phase in which Israel embarks on de facto genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank,” she added.

The journalist cites Palestinian data that the conflict in the region has already left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead or missing among the rubble. “And most of them are children. Furthermore, 90% of the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza were forced to move. Their homes were completely destroyed and people there are dying of hunger, thirst, without medical treatment and with hospitals and schools destroyed.”

Palestinian Mohammad Farahat, 43 years old, present at the demonstration, recently arrived in Brazil with his wife and children. Farahat was in the conflict region and arrived in Brazil at the end of last year, on one of the repatriation planes of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) that was in Gaza.

He, who still has difficulty speaking Portuguese, is now living in the city of Morungaba, in the interior of São Paulo. “We lived in Gaza and were evacuated by the Brazilian government”, he reports, highlighting that he had to leave the region because of the genocide and the deaths and bombings caused by Israel. “Our house was destroyed. We lost several people, family and friends,” he said. His mother and siblings, however, remain in Gaza. “The situation for them is very dangerous.”

Support

In addition to Palestinians and members of social and political movements, today's event also included Brazilians who sympathize with the suffering that has been experienced by families in Gaza. “I saw the news and have been following the entire story of what is happening there in that region of the Middle East. And I came here to give my personal support”, said Ideli Gonçalves Saba, 64 years old. “What we have seen is that genocide is happening there. There are occupied lands that belonged to Palestine. I'm not discussing Israel's legitimacy here, but what we know is that there were invasions of what was previously determined to be the State of Israel. And since then there has been a massacre of the Palestinian population. That’s why I think it’s important to come here and give support,” he told the reporter.

“I can't imagine the horror that these people are going through there because I have never been in a war zone. I can make assumptions, but I imagine it's a state of constant horror. Everyone who even minimally believes in a question of humanity, citizenship and people's rights must support the Palestinian people in their struggle”, added Ideli.

The protesters also advocate that the Brazilian government be more forceful in its actions and stances against the war. “If we have apartheid and genocide, we cannot mince words. You have to place yourself in the right way in the story. Palestinians have been calling for a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel since 2005. We have seen that people around the world are very supportive. We had demonstrations in London with more than a million people. We hope this helps put pressure on governments around the world to act effectively to stop this situation,” said Soraya.

More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 60,000 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Hamas launched an offensive against Israel on October 7 last year. The balance comes from the Gaza Ministry of Health. In Israel, Hamas attacks on October 7 left 1,200 people dead, in addition to taking more than 240 people hostage.