Suddenly, we found ourselves being showered with shells. We were shocked to see a large number of tanks approaching us.
Next we heard a series of explosions shaking the entire neighborhood.
We remained where we had been collecting wood for about 20 minutes. Then we left the wood behind us and – moving between the trees – slipped back to Shujaiya as the shells rained down all around us.
On the way back, we saw buildings collapsing with their inhabitants still inside them. Other people managed to flee.
A girl walking barefoot with a bag on her back was crying in the street. When I asked her why she was crying, she said that all of her family had been killed.
I was speechless.
Speechless in Shujaiya
by Osama Abu Jaser
for The Electronic Intifada
RMIT boasts of its partnerships with leading organisations in wide and varied range of industries. And the industry of death and destruction is no exception to it, with many such industry partners being listed on the Sir Lawrence Wackett Defence and Aerospace Centre’s website.
Students for Palestine has called out the nefarious weapon manufacturers—such as Boeing Defence Australia and QinetiQ to name a few but RMIT has tried to cover it up quite literally. Mention of the research centre in Building 12’s wayfinding signage can be found covered in tape.
RMIT Students for Palestine is calling for a Student General Meeting with at least 250 student attendees to raise the following demands in front of the Student Union,
- RUSU stands for a free Palestine;
- RUSU demands that RMIT cut ties with all weapons manufacturers and with companies working with the Israeli government;
- RUSU condemns the complicity of our university and the Albanese government in the genocide in Gaza;
- That RUSU calls on RMIT to withdraw from the 2024 Land Forces Exposition.
Follow @rmit_students_for_palestine on Instagram to get involved and come to the Student General Meeting and VOTE YES for a Free Palestine and for a weapons-free campus!
Editors’ Note:
- RUSU is holding a Student General Meeting (SGM) on Palestine (City Campus 13 August/ Bundoora Campus 14 August) after receiving a petition of almost 750 RMIT students calling for an SGM, under the RUSU Constitution. For further information and to register to attend refer to the SGM notice.
- RUSU has previously issued a statement calling for a Free Palestine; the issued document also demanded RMIT to disclose its partnerships with all weapon manufacturers and with companies working with the Israeli government and cut all ties with these companies. The full statement can be accessed here.
- Support for RMIT Students
Students at RMIT who have been negatively impacted by the ongoing war in Gaza and require additional support, can contact the following services:
Bullying, Discrimination and Harassment – RMIT Safer Community
Phone: +61 3 99252396
Email: [email protected]
Emotional and Wellbeing Support – RMIT Counselling
Phone: +61 3 9925 5000
Web: via Service Connect
Assessment Support – RMIT Special Consideration
Web: Special Consideration – RMIT University
By Auley Ryan
Header image via Soumil Sawmill