The fundraising event Move for Palestine got suddenly canceled by the owner of the space, and I can not wash away the profound sense of disgust I felt.
They left a paper note on the door telling the organizer to check their inbox, and this decision left around 30 people out on the sidewalk, including members of the Palestinian-Canadian community.
Lucky when a door closes, other ones open, and we can see more clearly who people are by their action. The event got moved somewhere else.
Nelson is apparently full of pacifist, opened-minded people but since the fall, since the entire world started to spell out loud, “Stop the genocide! Cease fire,” many of these lovely folks are nowhere to be found when it comes time to staying informed about Palestine.
People feel righteously ignorant about such a complex topic, but many still refuse to educate themselves. Many are assuming that by taking the side of justice they’ll be stigmatized as antisemitic.
This is a lie! I walked down Baker Street holding our table with new Jewish friends. We recognized each other and engaged in dialogue and we all showed up to an event that was peaceful.
It was an hour of dance to raise money for activists in major Canadian cities, who are co-ordinating our collective protests, in order to be heard by a government who isn’t listening.
It is heavily concerning that Nelson’s businesses and people don’t feel safe on sharing their support to end this war, and if other letters to the editor come your way in the next days and none of them get published this will be proof of what I am saying: cowardice and hypocrisy are the real Queens of this town.
Xochilt Ramirez
Nelson