Min appell 8. mars 2017 på besøk hos UPWC, Gaza City.








Speech for the International Women’s Day 2017 in Gaza

Introduction of myself – my name is Sara Bell, I am here visiting Gaza with NPA and NUMGE/Fagforbundet, and I represent Fagforbundet’s solidarity work in Palestine for my region on the West Coast of Norway­. Fagforbundet is a trade union that organises almost 360 000 workers, and between 75-80 % of us are women. I am 40 years old and I am the leader of the biggest Fagforbundet branch in my region.

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the UPWC for letting me speak on behalf of Fagforbundet in this demonstration.

Before I start talking about the importance of the Women’s movement, I would like to convey a couple of greetings to you on behalf of the Women’s Front in Norway and from Ship to Gaza Norway. From the Women’s Front in Norway, who visited several women’s committees in Gaza in 1983, I send respect, love and sister solidarity. Ship to Gaza Norway, whose political platform is to break the siege and end the blockade of Gaza, also sends you their very warmest regards on this day.

To me, you who are here today, are the perfect manifestation of what the world needs much, much more of: women, who organise collectively to change their lives. We stand here shoulder to shoulder with you.

Many women and girls before us, have bravely challenged the constraints on their freedoms, and to me, the 8th of march is a fine day to remember and honour them by continuing, and never stopping to demand liberation and dignity for women everywhere.

Women across the world face different obstacles and oppressions in their daily lives. But common to women globally, is that no matter where in the world we live, we are subjected to (physical or sexual) violence and many forms of discrimination. The threat of violence and the experience of violence ties our experiences of what it means to be women or girls together. It is currently estimated that 35 % of women and girls worldwide, have or are experiencing violence.  My country, Norway, is certainly no exception and neither is Palestine. Right now, 35 % of all the women and girls worldwide, means approximately 1,3 billion. 1,3 billion victims of violence is completely unacceptable.

There is no doubt that women can work to find ways to unify and stand together in the struggle for liberation, and we need to change the conditions of our own and each other’s lives. Many women have come and gone before us, and many will come after us. So many have paid a high price for their rebellion, so take courage! And never give up.

I would like to end my speech with a poem. This poem goes out to all the women and girls in Gaza, it is by the great poet Mahmoud Darwish, and it’s called Defiance.


Defiance

Tighten my fetters.
Confiscate my papers
and cigarettes.
Fill my mouth with dust.
Poetry is blood in the heart,
salt in bread,
moisture in eyes.
It is written with fingernails,
with eyes,
with daggers.
I shall proclaim in my detention cell,
in the bathroom,
in the stable,
under the lash,
manacled,
in the violence of chains,
that a million birds
on the branches of my heart,
are singing fighting songs. 


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