How the Palestinian diaspora are driving solidarity efforts

Karim Ali is one of the estimated seven million from the Palestinian diaspora living in the United Kingdom. Born outside Palestine, he spent his early years in Jordan before moving to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ali’s personal journey is shaped by the story of dispossession involving his grandparents who were driven out of their homes in historic Palestine in 1948. It followed the killing of seven locals in the village of Sabbarin where Ali’s family lived. The mass displacement was led by the Nakba or “catastrophe” in Arabic, when Zionist militias destroyed hundreds of Arab villages and forcefully expelled tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes.

As part of the diaspora, Ali learnt firsthand about the community’s own history and culture such as his grandfather who fled Palestine for Lebanon, before heading to Jordan, Syria and then Türkiye. Such memories forged Ali’s close connection to Palestine who like many has pushed for the right of return.

“I have a long history of Palestinian advocacy in the UK,” 24-year-old Ali tells TRT World by phone from the UK. “I have a mission in my life to ensure safety and equality and happiness for my people, but also for all people in this world.”

Seven years ago he moved to London, studying pharmacology and undertaking volunteering including operating at a food bank.

The Nakba has left an indelible mark on the Palestinian conscience. According to the United Nations (UN), it “shattered Palestinian lives and severed their ancestral connection to their land during the establishment of the State of Israel.”

Palestinians suffered again as the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem were occupied by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It forced millions - including those displaced to live under military occupation amid further Israeli settlement expansionism.

Over time the community has "endured forced displacement, dispossession, and disenfranchisement, with their rights to self-determination, restitution, and compensation repeatedly denied," according to the UN.

Aware about the history of his community, Ali, for the last five years, has been involved in activist circles - driving the Palestinian cause while working in the technology sector to earn a living.

Amid Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian lands, for the last three years Ali and a number of like minded people from the UK, Italy and Gaza have been working closely together on a special initiative.

The group has helped locals like Alaa al Dali, a prominent and talented professional cyclist in Gaza.

Like many of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza, al Dali has faced countless challenges to ride his bike across the enclave - an area Human Rights Watch describes as an “open air prison. Locals living in Gaza also face significant food, water and electricity shortages.

After being invited to compete in international competitions, for al Dali in his early 20s at the time, this culminated in him not gaining the necessary permit to leave the besieged enclave that has been closed off by Israel since 2007.

As Palestinians mobilised to demand the easing of the Israeli blockade and the right to return to their homelands during the 2018-2019 “Great March of Return" - al Dali was reportedly peacefully participating in the demonstrations when an Israeli sniper shot him in the leg.

“He wasn't allowed to leave Israel to get medical support and as a result of that, he ended up having his leg amputated,” says Ali.

Al Dali’s dream of one day competing for Palestine against other cyclists from around the globe was “shattered.”

While translating a documentary from Arabic to English, Ali learnt about al Dali’s journey, inspiring him to take action.

“I fell in love with his story and we started speaking and we came up with this idea to start the paracycling team in Gaza to help amputees and people who suffered there,” says Ali.

The group’s co-founder, Ali, says the aim of the organisation ‘Gaza Sunbirds’ is to remove the notion of victimisation - allowing those affected to resume their self-autonomy and to share their lived experiences.

In this process, Ali says the group emerged as a para-cycling community of amputees who have lost limbs while peacefully demonstrating Israeli occupation.

Gaza Sunbirds’ main objective for these Palestinian athletes is to compete at the 2024 Paralympics.

In doing so, the group aims for them to overcome their challenges “through determination and excellence in sport” and to “proudly raise the Palestinian flag on the world stage”.

He says his team is made up of 20 para-athletes in Gaza and four members of staff.

The athletes have “lost everything” to the occupation, he says, adding many continue to live in a “hellscape,” such as refugee camps and in abject poverty. He says others have lost their lives.

In recent weeks the globe has been moved by disastrous images in Gaza. Numerous buildings have been levelled by Israeli airstrikes, impacting generations of families.

Since October 7, at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza. It follows the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel that killed over 1,400 Israelis. Gaza continues to face an Israel’s full-fledged siege on food, water, fuel and electricity.

Tensions remain high with Israel calling on citizens to evacuate the north.

Ali and Gaza Sunbirds have been pushing to drive “support on the ground,” handling the logistics and distributing provisions. The organisation raised money through their fundraiser to pay to release stores of food and supplies already in Gaza. Efforts got underway on October 18, with widespread bread distributions.

Most recently on October 21, when Israel allowed limited aid to enter Gaza, 200 packages were distributed by the team’s coach Hassan Abu Ali, captain al Dali and athlete Hazem. In previous efforts thanks to donations, the group has delivered 1.8 tons of food aid and supplies like duvets,nappies and sanitary products to 3,000 people in the besieged enclave.

The group wants to increase the aid but says Israel has has “denied entry”.

On Monday a third convoy of 20 aid trucks also entered Rafah, crossing from Egypt into Gaza.

Meanwhile, Palestinian solidarity has faced challenges in parts of the world. In the West, Germany and France have banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Nevertheless, citizens have continued to assemble on the streets in solidarity with Palestians, denouncing what they view as Israeli aggression amid the barrage of airstrikes on Gaza.

For second week in a row, the UK’s capital London has held large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The most recent was on October 21 where organisers said an estimated 300,000 pro-Palestinian supporters participated.

It follows the UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman’s letter that critics regard as a push by the UK to suppress Palestinian solidarity - by linking the national flag of Palestine and political slogans to terrorism.

Ali says Palestinians face a “rhetoric" that is not only “painful” but also fuels a process of "dehumanisation."

In reality, he says the diaspora are "very active members of the society" contributing to the UK’s social fabric. Many hold prominent positions such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, politicians, poets and philosophers.

But they have faced issues in raising their voice.

He says the government has “consistently” made it harder for Palestinians “to speak out about what's happening to them”.

“They’ve wanted to erase us from the collective culture of this country,” he says."But also what hurts me is that this exact rhetoric is being used to justify the genocide of my people back home."

He says generally the UK is regarded for its tolerant “freedom of expression,” with London having secured some of "great minds" from around the world.

But when it comes to discussing Palestinian rights, he believes there are significant challenges.

He says it requires shifting perception and that social change is needed at the grassroots level, at the political level and a cultural level including the media - particularly amid what critics have labelled as Western bias in the Israel-Palestine coverage.

"This is why we go out in the streets and we scream for our rights. We scream for them to stop the genocide. We scream for them to recognize our humanity - to recognize our right to exist,” says Ali, referencing how the media should play the role of a watchdog “to maintain truth” when it comes to covering Israel-Palestine.

While the UN describes the right of return as one of the fundamental pillars of the Palestinian people's rights to self determination, Ali says his dream is to one day ride his bike alongside his team in Palestine.

"I hope to do it in a place where we can cycle, with no checkpoints and no borders, and everyone on the land is living as an equal and is living in safety and harmony".