In spite of the calamities back at home, Palestinians in Uganda keep hope alive

A group of Palestinians living in Uganda and those in solidarity with Palestine have been meeting up one to two times a month the last half year to show support to the victims in Gaza trapped in the war between Israel and Hamas, share information on the situation and stories from people in Gaza and raise money to support families in need.

As Ashley Aine writes, they have so far raised more than Shs 17m for relief and medical supplies to victims of the ongoing war. Trapped in the war between Israel and Hamas that started on October 7, 2023, around 40,000 innocent Palestinians, mostly women and children, have lost their lives.

Since the start of the war, which is currently being investigated as a genocide by the International Court of Justice, Dr Kassem has been in constant contact with family and friends working in the relief and medical profession in Palestine.

As a result, he has grown increasingly concerned about the resources needed to save lives and treat the ailing and injured. His testimony is just one of the dozens that came out last week during a meeting of ‘friends of Palestine’ at Encanto restaurant in Kamwokya.

In fact, it is from this background that he during the last 6 months have been an active member of ‘Friends of Palestine’ and supported the group remarkably to raise funds for relief and medical supplies to send to his home country.

Him and the more than 200 well-wishers have for the last half year been running several monthly gatherings at different locations in Kampala to show solidarity with victims, share information on the situation and stories from people in Gaza on top of collecting donations to be send to Palestinian families in need.

On April 7, marking 6 months of war, about 50 of the members of Friends of Palestine met at Encanto restaurant in Kamwokya to light candles for victims of the conflict and afterwards, made donations in solidarity. The week after they organized a second-hand flee market with a paid buffet and sale of keffiyeh and t-shirts. The total of 1,2m collected will be sent to Palestinian families in Gaza together with the remaining collected donations during the month of April.

“Yesterday’s proponents of international humanitarian law and the responsibility to protect doctrine are today’s supporters of the worst bloodletting attack on civilians in Palestine/Israel since the end of British rule and the possibility of a regional/ inter-regional war is increasing daily – with Israeli air attacks on multiple location in Sinai, increased tension in the Golan Heights and the Yemenis Houthis latest involvement,” DR Kassem says.

“To see what is happening in Palestine is horrible, the country is being destroyed. With my friends and well-wishers, we want to get relief items so we can give them to vulnerable people to make a difference. In Uganda, I have realized that many people want to offer their support and any help is much appreciated.”

One of the group founders and organisers says that the aim of the group is to share information and make a stand for Palestine. They hope to build a momentum which can enlarge the group and strengthen their voice.

“Our idea is to spread awareness of what is happening and to voice our opposition. It is social, peaceful events where people can choose to come and it has been inspiring to see more and more people from all over the world joining.”

ORGANIZATION

The group has strict guidelines meant to ensure that they do not disrupt other people’s peace as described in their group:

“Our gatherings are strictly peaceful, any conversations we have is respectful and decent. Any hate speech or comments that contain antisemitic slurs are strictly prohibited”.

“We are mindful of and respectful to the venues we hold our meetings. Any negative attitude done by any of us is taken against the whole group and affects the image of what we stand for; so, we don’t make chants.”