Protesters flocked to downtown Washington, D.C., by the thousands Saturday afternoon to bring national attention to several causes, including the plight of Palestinians in the Middle East.
First-year College student Reema Hijazi, who was among a number of University students who attended the demonstration, stressed that the purpose of the protest was simply to support the Palestinian people and to bring attention to the injustices they have suffered.
"I don't support suicide bombing at all," Hijazi said. "I'm in support of the Palestinian cause because I support human rights."
She also said she viewed the suicide bombings as acts of desperation.
"I truly believe violence is the last resort," she added. The suicide bombers are "so desperate and so hurt that they're willing to give up their life."
Hijazi also voiced concern over the media's interpretation of the protest.
"I was worried that the media would skew" the purpose of the protest, Hijazi said. When minor violence occurs, the media often blows it out of proportion.
But the demonstration was entirely peaceful, said second-year College student Bsrat Mezghebe, who also attended the protest.
"There weren't any people on the sides saying things to the crowd," Mezghebe said.
The march began at Dupont Circle and passed the White House, ending at the Capitol Building.
Second-year College student Hana Elkhazin, president-elect of the Arab Student Organization, said the protesters found support in one another.
"We had all these oppressed people together," Elkhazin said. "Everyone was working together."
Mezghebe said she was particularly pleased with the variety of people that turned out for the protest.
"It was such a diverse group," she said. "It wasn't necessarily anti-Israel or anti-Sharon, but just to show that there is national concern about the Palestinian right to a homeland."
There was a group of rabbis who were involved in the protest, among other supporters, she added.
Saturday's protest came less than a week after a protest in support of the Israeli people drew similar numbers of protesters to the capitol last Monday.
Like the pro-Palestinian protests, Monday's pro-Israel protest was not focused on support of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon or the political situation in Israel, but rather on solidarity with the Israeli people.
Mezghebe expressed concern that University students are uninterested in the crisis in the Middle East and have not educated themselves about the matter.
"One thing that bothers me is apathy," Mezghebe said. "I haven't seen a lot of conversation in the general student body."
Elkhazin noted that Anti-Oppression Day, which occurred last Wednesday outside Newcomb Hall, served to draw some attention to various humanitarian causes.
In addition to Middle Eastern issues, Anti-Oppression Day featured speakers on the crimes against humanity in Iraq and Nigeria, as well as those against American Indians.
"I don't think [these causes] have been getting enough respect from the general population," Elkhazin said.
She summed up the purpose of the demonstration and events such as Anti-Oppression Day by saying everyone who participated supported the connection between all oppressed people.
She quoted Martin Luther King Jr. who said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
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