DEARBORN — Americans are frequently criticized for lacking
knowledge about the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Spreading awareness on the
issue was the underlying goal of protesters who carried signs outside of
Dearborn City Hall last Saturday as cars drove by.  The rally, Human Chain in Solidarity For The Palestinian
People, was organized by young Arab Americans who say they want to see more
youth become active in spreading information on the plight of
Palestinians. 

Asil Zayed, one of the organizers and a student at Oakland
University, says it’s events like this that make a huge difference in raising
concern about the cause. “Word of mouth goes a long way…,” Zayed
said. She adds that a simple Facebook post can be impacting.

She was drawn to the issue after reading about both sides of
the conflict in American and Arab media. She says young people should invest
more time participating in events like this and less time partying on
weekends.     

“What I noticed a lot is Arab American youth who live
here, they don’t realize what’s going on there,” Oakland Community College
student Nour Saker said. Saker says Americans are lucky and fortunate.
“They don’t even have clean water. They don’t have anything,” she
adds, speaking about Palestinians. 
Saker believes Palestinians have been left with no identity because of
the occupation, and that American tax dollars shouldn’t be spent helping fund
Israeli’s military. 

The core message of demonstrators was to illustrate the
power of unity among people such as Tunisians and Egyptians. One sign read,
“People united will never be defeated.” Twenty-one-year-old Fatme
Idriss who is Lebanese and participated in the rally said people, whether or
not they’re Palestinian, should be concerned.  “They’re people. Everyone should be…,” Idriss
said.      

Mohammad Qazzaz of Dearborn says the historical events
unfolding in the Middle East surrounding the Arab revolution have given him
hope to believe eventually Palestine with be liberated. “Hope is higher
after Egypt and Tunisia,” Qazzaz said.