To the Students of Gaza

We write this newsletter on Ngunnuwal and Ngambri land, sovereignty has never been ceded and Always was, Always will be Aboriginal Land. We also recognise that the only way forward on stolen land is for the university to give the stolen land back to the traditional owners who have been with their ancestors taking care and loving this land for a millenia.

This newsletter captures the collective thoughts and feelings of a movement dedicated to challenging the entrenched norms of the neoliberal, neocolonial institution that is the Australian National University (ANU). The newsletter serves as a platform for those who stand against genocide and expose the complicity of the ANU in perpetuating these injustices, through their investments and collaborations with academic institutions who are complicit in genocide. We will publish this newsletter regularly to keep you informed of our ongoing efforts and to share the voices and stories from our encampment.

Photo by Metras_global

The ANU Gaza Solidarity Encampment strives to push our educational institution towards a higher ethical standard. These past few months have been incredibly challenging for us as students. We have witnessed a genocide live-streamed directly into the palms of our hands. Some of us witness the murder of countless family members on screens, while others are reminded of the violence our families have escaped. As a camp, we are united by our shared humanity, standing in solidarity with all people who are being violently displaced from their lands.

For many of us, this encampment marks the first time we have actively participated in a movement against a powerful institution like the ANU, fortified with security systems, an army of lawyers, consultants and ‘literally’ the police. Aware of our own vulnerabilities as students, we have seen the university exercise its power to actively silence dissenting voices among its student body, all while chirping to senators about its commitment to academic freedom and the right to protest. 

Despite the overwhelmingly disappointing response from the ANU, we take courage in knowing that we are on the right side of history. We refuse to ignore the genocide unfolding before our eyes and we prioritise human life and humanity over financial and political interests. 

This newsletter aims to amplify the voices of our encampment participants that have been stifled over the past few weeks.

We refuse cheap attempts by the university management to divide us and create frictions between the different groups and individuals participating in the encampment. We all come from different backgrounds and political affiliations and we stand united together in our demand to ask of our university to disclose and divest from weapons manufacturing who are contributing to the genocide and ecocide in Gaza, Palestine.

We stand in solidarity with all those who are experiencing colonial violence from Palestine to Sudan, Congo to Kanaky, Kashmir to East Turkestan, West Papua to Western Sahara all the way to our shores here in so-called Australia. 

We dedicate this letter to the students of Gaza, who have been denied their right to their education, their classrooms, their schools, and their future. We honour those whose lives have been taken and those who have lost everything they hold dear. We hope that our encampment and the work we do make a meaningful difference to the lives of those in Gaza by refusing to be complicit in their extermination. 

From
ANU Gaza Solidarity Encampment

Now More Than Ever, 
From the River to the Sea, 
Always was, Always will be.