A call has been made for the countries of the Caribbean to recognize Palestine as a state and to support the war-torn country in its fight against Israel.
The impassioned plea has come from Palestine’s Ambassador to the Caribbean, Linda Sobeh Ali, who said the war had displaced thousands of Palestinians from their homes and killed countless others.
Speaking during a virtual press conference this afternoon, Ali maintained that now was not the time to be silent.
A week of fighting has left more than 200 people dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza strip.
“As the ambassador to all the Caribbean and to CARICOM I am just reinstating that we are very thankful to the governments that recognize Palestine and vote in favour of resolutions to protect our rights and we are asking the other friendly governments that still don’t recognize the state of Palestine to recognize the state of Palestine. Recognizing the state of Palestine is not de-recognizing the state of Israel.
“We are asking for all the Caribbean countries that still need to recognize Palestine to please support us, stand by us, stand by a just cause and recognize the existence of the state of Palestine. Recognizing the state of Palestine is the route to peace in the region. It is the key to peace in the region,” Ali contended.
The Ambassador said she was confident Palestine would receive Barbados’ support.
“We have all the hope that Barbados will recognize us as a state. We know that Barbados and the Government of Barbados also is voting pro-Palestine and it will be the ultimate right now for them to recognize Palestine,” she added.
“Our lives, our homes, our lands, need to be respected. We cannot remain silent and I urge all of you to raise your voice and let the whole world know what kind of massacre, what kind of genocide is taking place in these moments that we are even speaking, in Jerusalem, in West Bank, in 1948 areas where Palestinians live. We need our voices to be heard and we need the international community to urge the UN, urge Israel, urge the occupier to stop attacking our people.”
General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, David Denny, said he was working alongside the Solidarity Movement in Barbados to raise awareness by staging a protest outside the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said he would also be leading the charge in having Barbados establish a relationship with the Palestine people.
Denny revealed plans for a scholarship to be awarded to young people from Palestine, which would allow them to come to Barbados and study.
“We want to be able to do more. We want to be able to work with you as the Ambassador and we want to be able to have a direct link with your country because we want to be able to continue our solidarity.
“I am thinking that things like scholarships for the young people in Palestine, if our organisation can organize for us to award a scholarship, even if it is just to one person to bring them to Barbados to study in one of the educational institutions so we can start to develop that kind of people-to-people contact with your nation. Our region has limited information about what is taking place in Palestine and we have limited information about the Palestine people’s struggles,” Denny said. (RB)
