. TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . .
Text from You Tube video (transcription by CPNN)
In California, Asna Tabassum, a graduating senior at USC, was selected as valedictorian and offered a traditional slot to speak at the 2024 graduation. She said she supports the pro-Palestinian cause that has grown at college campuses. After on-and-off campus groups criticized the decision and the university said it received threats, it pulled her from the graduation speakers schedule.
In Ohio, the graduating class of the University of Toledo were more fortunate. They were able to hear the speech of their valedictorian on behalf of the people of Palestine. Here is the text of her message.
“Salaam alaikum, meaning peace be upon you all.
“I was born in a beautiful city in Palestine. It is for this moment and this accomplishment that my parents decided to come here and build a life here. So to my mother and father, I’d like to begin by extending my deepest gratitude for their dedication, sacrifices, and love that were cornerstone to my success, as well as my brothers and sisters who have always been there for me. I am not alone in this gratitude. Every single one of you in the audience has sacrificed for a graduate here or contributed to their success in ways that we will never forget. So thank you all.
“Now, it is essential to understand and acknowledge the unique journey that has brought us all to this moment in our time here. In our time here, we have witnessed profound challenges and injustices that have shaken our world like never before. We witnessed and are still witnessing an unprecedented amount of loss of innocent life in Palestine. Over the last seven months, at least 40,000 human beings have been killed by the state of Israel. These people were not only innocent Muslims, but innocent Christians and innocent Jews, as well. These people were civilians, a majority of them children. We have witnessed the demolition of one of the oldest churches in the world, of mosques, of universities, and even of designated safe zones by the United Nations.
“Although today is a day of accomplishments and happiness, this is a difficult reality that we must acknowledge as we proceed to the next chapter of our lives. Why, you may ask? Because we, the people, are funding these horrors with our tax dollars. Every single one of you will continue into your professional lives and be impacted by this.
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Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?
How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?
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“Consider the following, the fact that teachers who quite literally shape our future are paid less than a full-time and then an average full-time employee or that 1.2 million veterans who put their lives on the line for this country that they live below the poverty line or that our top health insurance companies made nearly 69 billion dollars in profits the same year that 68,000 Americans died due to a lack of access to health care.
“We are the generation that must address these issues at home. We must ask why we have sent around 320 billion dollars in foreign aid to a state convicted of war crimes, countless violations of international law and who are on trial for genocide while Americans are dying due to lack of access to health care.
“This is the message that I want to leave you all with today that we are the generation. A testimony to that statement is the thousands of beautiful brave students, faculty, and administrators who are camping outside of universities demanding for a better use of our funds.
“If there are any of you here who feel as though you cannot relate or are uninterested in what I have said thus far, I would challenge you to consider this. Growing up we learned about the atrocities of the Holocaust, the horrors of slavery, and we wondered how on earth did these things happen. Well, there is a popular phrase that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So if you wonder what you would have done during those horrific times, I implore you to take a look at what you are doing right now.
“We are the generation that will not accept being divided based on religion or background. We will not accept unwarranted, uneducated, and hateful labels as we demand a better future for ourselves and for justice.
“I apologise that this is not a typical graduation speech, but there is nothing typical about the times that we are living in. There is nothing typical about 15,000 children live-streamed deaths being watched. And there is nothing acceptable about our institutional complicity, silence, or the gross misuse of police force nationwide.
“The world is in desperate need of change, and we must be the ones to do it. So this goes to everybody here today, my friends and family, professors, deans, and my fellow students. We must use every opportunity we have to make change, no matter how scary it is. As the graduates of today, we have an opportunity to be the heroes of tomorrow.
“If we look to history, we will see that the students have always been on the right side of history. The key to this is solidarity, accepting discomfort at the cost of truth, having difficult conversations to find common grounds, and working together towards Salaam, which if you recall means peace.
“Remember when I leave this stage that my calling was one for peace, so to not support that would not be a reflection of our UT values or our humanity. I will end by sending my Salaam to the struggling teachers and veterans, to my fellow Americans, to my family in Palestine, to the people of Gaza, and to all of those who are fighting for peace.
“Congratulations to you all, and Salaam.”
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