Palestinian woman's hardships inspire protests at University of Melbourne

By Leijla Biogradlija

A Palestinian woman's experiences under Israeli occupation in the West Bank have played a key role in pro-Palestine demonstrations at the University of Melbourne in Australia, where she continued her education.

Campus demonstrations which began at Columbia University in the US and have since spread globally have been ongoing at the Melbourne institution for a week.

Demonstrations on campus involving students who have set up around 60 tents are calling for the university to end its ties with arms manufacturers.

Dana Alshaer, a 30-year-old graduate student and one of the key organizers of the protests, said being born and raised in the West Bank city of Bethlehem made her knowledgeable enough to “hear” the difference between sniper and rubber bullets.

Alshaer said she tries to stay in touch with her friends in Gaza.

"They all lost their homes. My 15-year-old cousin and her mother were subjected to violence by Israeli soldiers last week," she said.

Alshaer recalled the high tensions in the region from 2000-2005, when an Israeli tank followed her when she wanted to go to school.

"My whole life has been spent under colonial powers," she added.

A university spokesperson said peaceful demonstrations are ongoing and that the university upholds freedom of speech.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling siege on the seaside enclave, leaving most of its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is also accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi from Istanbul