Over this past year, we have witnessed relentless violence rooted in the occupation, colonialism, and repression of Palestinian people. Meanwhile, those of us who resist in the belly of the beast—the U.S.—have experienced our own forms of violence and repression. From militarized policing to government surveillance, the same forces that oppress Palestinians are at work within our communities.
Yet in the face of this, we’ve learned from Palestinians who have transformed immense grief into relentless hope. Palestine has opened up new pathways to liberation allowing us as Asian Americans to connect our stories and stake in this struggle. We are freeing ourselves because we too are oppressed by these interlocking systems of imperialism, militarism, and supremacy.
In the past year, we’ve seen how our resistance can take many forms:
- mutual aid fundraising
- making art
- offering childcare and cooking for others
- disrupting U.S. government hearings
- joining reading groups
- organizing safety and security trainings
- marching in the streets
- talking to local school boards
- boycotting goods and institutions that don’t align with our values
- offering bodywork and healing sessions
- calling out racism and Islamophobia
- hosting grief circles
- blocking boats and bridges
- translating news to our immigrant families
As Asian Americans, we have our own experiences with radicalized, state-sanctioned violence through colonialism, the ongoing occupation and destruction of our homelands, and surveillance and incarceration here in the U.S.
We’ve seen U.S.-backed war and genocide spread across Southeast Asia, where millions of U.S. bombs were dropped on our homelands in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And we continue to see the genocide spread beyond Gaza and the West Bank into Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
Our struggles are deeply connected to Palestinian liberation and we remain in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian right to return.
We invite our community to reflect on this past year of organizing alongside our team:
- How has this past year changed you?
- How have you transformed to meet this moment?
We invite our community to reflect on this past year of organizing alongside our team:
18MR TEAM:
“While we collectively grieve the ongoing mass death and genocide of the Palestinian people, of Black and brown folks in the U.S., we see the interconnectedness of our struggles and fight for liberation. I feel a renewed commitment to organizing; to continue to resist in solidarity; to know that it takes all of us to build something bigger, better than each individual.”
“After experiencing criminalization and state repression aimed to silence and weaken our movement, I’ve come out a more powerful, skilled, and connected organizer. The state’s efforts to break us down did the opposite: it forged new connections, trust, and deeper community. I’ve witnessed the power of our community coming together to take action and ALSO the power of our community caring for one another through a crisis. I am so proud of our commitment to life, our creativity, our generosity, our ability to weave love and culture and art into our resistance.”
“It made clearer than ever the power of the state and this empire AND it also makes me feel even more committed to the work. How do we become more rigorous in our organizing and in our love for each other? Witnessing how Palestinians continued to resist, mourn and still find joy has given me more strength to continue the fight locally.”
Asian Americans for a Liberated Palestine demand:
- End U.S. aid to Israel
- Immediate arms embargo: Stop sending weapons to Israel
- Dismantle Israeli apartheid and occupation
- Free flow of humanitarian aid and end Gaza’s blockade
- Immediate and Permanent Ceasefire now!
We will not stop until Palestine is free.
