A rally of 150 people, mainly students, marked the anniversary of the massacres at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982 on September 25. The event was organised by the cross-campus Students for Palestine group. The protest spilled into a march and covered a few city blocks.
The massacres 27 years ago were led by the reactionary Falange militia and supported by the Israeli Defense Force.
Speakers included student Ophelia Haragli, Jennifer Killen from the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Sylvia Hale from the NSW Greens. They reflected on the horrific conditions for Palestinians today — many still living in camps with no right of return to their homeland and many others living behind walls and barbed wire as the Israeli regime continues its apartheid-like policies.
The peaceful protest was marred by police who arrested a student for stepping onto the road (while many others were already on the road), and pushed and shoved Pat Eatock, an Indigenous activist who relies on a walking frame, nearly causing her to topple over.
[To get in touch with Students for Palestine, visit studentsforpalestine.wordpress.com.]