I want to share with you testimony from someone who is my age in Gaza. A 31-year-old male, arrested at Netzarim Checkpoint, held for a total of 53 days, initially at the checkpoint before being transferred to an unknown military camp and the Negev prison. He was interviewed 151 days after his release.
I was hoping that the next morning would not come, and I would die. ‘I really hoped to die.’ The reality of the strikes made me feel extremely humiliated, especially given my high status in the neighbourhood and at home. Imagine telling your family and friends what happened to you. […] I was severely beaten by one of the soldiers, resulting in three broken ribs in my chest. […] The pain is still all over my body and I cannot move or stand. The scars from the plastic ties are still on my hands. Whenever I look at them, I remember what happened to me inside the detention centre and how helpless I was, unable to even defend myself. From time to time, I also feel pain in my chest from the fracture I suffered.
His story and countless others are available in a report titled, “Torture and Genocide: The Shattered Futures of Former Palestinian Detainees in Gaza” written by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Ample other reports are available by various human rights organizations. Learn their stories. Speak up. Organize. Mobilize. And Act. History is watching us.
We are calling for:
⁃ Immediate release of all Palestinian hostages and political prisoners, including healthcare workers
⁃ An end to administrative detention, torture, and medical abuse
⁃ Immediate access to legal representation, family visits, health care, and adequate water, food, and hygiene for all prisoners
⁃ An end to Canada's complicity in Israeli occupation and genocide