Outrage over the continued
violence in the Middle East came to the streets of downtown Knoxville
on Tuesday, where dozens of "Women in Black" were joined
by other supporters to make a plea for peace.
Until now, little had been heard from the public voice of local
Palestinian- and Arab-American communities in response to the ongoing
attacks overseas.
But after the Christian Easter holiday and Jewish Passover saw
no lull in suicide bombings or military operations, about 50 people
of various backgrounds rallied locally outside the John J. Duncan
Federal Building.
Drawing the attention of midday traffic, many came cloaked in the
traditional black hijab of mourners, standing in vivid contrast
to their hand-held color photographs of dead children caught in
the crossfire of Israeli and Palestinian fighting.
"We feel so powerless to do anything but come here and stand
in solidarity," said Brenda Bell, a rally organizer. "We're
opposed to the killing of any innocent people - Palestinian or Israeli."
It was the first local appearance of Women in Black, which Bell
described as an international movement started by Israeli women
to support an end to the Israeli military occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza.
Knoxville resident Hanan Ayesh came with the concerns of her family
members who are still in Ramallah, including her two brothers who
she said were among the 700 men recently rounded up by Israeli authorities.
One brother, she said, is an American citizen.
"These people are not terrorists," Ayesh said. "They
are human beings trying to raise families women are raising their
kids alone in the dark right now. "(Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel) Sharon is the biggest terrorist."
And the concerns did not come only from women.
Khalil Mubarak stood among them, his mind still thinking of his
relatives in Ramallah. The Israeli occupation has left residents
there without food, water or electricity, he explained, and he had
not been able to reach his aunt in three days.
"It's just a desperate situation," Mubarak said. "I'm
really shocked that the whole world is not stepping in and doing
something and stopping the Israeli army in their tracks. This is
genocide."
The gathering was assembled on short notice, explained Renee Jubran,
who also helped organize the event with series of phone calls Monday.
As she echoed the group's frustrations, she hoped their message
would not fall on deaf ears.
"Black is a sign of mourning to us, as Arabs," Jubran
said. "People need to know what is really going on. If they
knew, they would really sympathize."
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323
or hickman@knews.com.
Copyright 2002 (April 3, 2002) The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
