RAMADAN WITH

PALESTINE
By Ms. Hafsah Haq
Mental Health Counsellor

The City School Ravi Campus

THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA - OVER 150 DAYS HAVE PASSED
➔ Since 1948, the Palestinians have been suffering under an illegal occupation that
has been conducting ethnic cleansing for over 75 years with intentions to
erase and steal the Palestinian culture.
➔ From October 8th, the relentless and brutal attacks on Gaza worsened with
over 70% of the housing in the area flattened by indiscriminate carpet
bombing.
➔ Over 150 days of this war on Gaza and the genocide committed against the
Palestinians, we still do not see an end to the horrors unfold on our screens
every day.
➔ With the month of Ramadan, it is deeply concerning that the
remaining surviving population of Gaza is being purposefully starved and
denied medical attention by the occupying forces and the United States.
GAZA IS STARVING - RAMADAN IS UPON US
➔ In addition to the brutal attacks on the women,
children and men that have killed over 30,000
and 70,000 wounded, the surviving population is
being starved.

➔ Palestinians have requested masses via social

media to not post food during this time of their
suffering.

➔ The humanitarian aid that has been parked at the

Rafah border is not allowed to go in due to radical
Israeli supporters protesting there.
MALNOURISHMENT HAS CLAIMED OVER 180 LIVES
➔ Palestinians are rummaging through
garbage, eating leaves, animal feed and
other inedible items to survive these
harsh conditions.

➔ As the medical system continues to

collapse, more children and babies
undergo malnourishment with bleak
prognosis as many are now dying of
starvation,
WHAT CAN WE DO?
➔ Survivor’s guilt continues to plague the working class
who take to the streets to protest, donate what they can
and pray as they continue to spread awareness via
social media.
➔ However, every little action we do counts and must be
amplified.
➔ During the Holy Month of Ramadan, there are a couple
of ideas that we can implement to do our part for our
brothers and sisters in Palestine alongside those
suffering from poverty in Pakistan.
➔ Utilizing the institute’s strong foundations, the
collective empathy of the staff and the awareness of the
students, we wish to formulate events and plans of
action for the month of Ramadan.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PALESTINIAN AID - FRIDAY ASSEMBLY PRAYER
➔ Morning Prayer: The Palestinians
have shown repeated resilience by
continuing their Jummah prayer.
➔ A prayer everyday held in each class
before the schedule resumes.
➔ Every Friday, we utilize the
morning assembly as a reminder is
given on the week’s activities in
contribution to the poor in Pakistan
and the oppressed in Palestine. This
is followed up by a mass prayer and
a recitation.
MONETARY DONATIONS
➔ Fund collection: During the month of Ramadan,
a bo will be set up where individuals can drop in
envelopes with money or cheques every day in
accordance to whether they wish to be named or
not.

➔ Beyond the fund collection done within school

premises, students and staff will be encouraged
to make donations privately when feasible.
These monetary donations collected
within school premises will be donated to
foundations and reliable sources like:
➔ https://www.instagram.com/matw_p
roject/ - MATW Project

➔ https://www.instagram.com/alkhidm
atpakistan/ - Al Khidmat Foundation

➔ https://edhi.org/ - EDHI Foundation

(More suggestions will be welcomed)
ITEM AID - CARE OR EMERGENCY PACKAGES
➔ Other than monetary donations, we look to
encourage students to bring in items they
wish to donate.
➔ This goes hand-in-hand with the Ramadan
Promise initiative for Pakistanis by The
City School.
➔ Students and teachers will bring food
items alongside clothing, medical supplies,
toys, books, stationery, sanitary products
and women essentials to create individual
or collective care packages.
➔ Students can check with teachers and staff
on what items are required as well.
➔ These items can be brought from
home or bought by the individual as
per their preference.
➔ Even ONE item such as a warm
sweater can make all the difference,
encourage students to not shy away
and to not compete against one
another in bringing more.
➔ “Do what you can” should be the
motivating factor - collective effort
AWARENESS ACTIVITIES
➔ Art Competition -
Palestine Theme: Urge
individuals to make pieces
of art and posters that
spread awareness about
Palestine. These art pieces
can be put up around the
school and be used on
social media, protests and
further events - maybe
even for fundraising
AWARENESS ACTIVITIES
➔ Silent Protest Sit-In:
Suggestion to involve students and staff of
the entirety of The City School Network to
decide a nationwide peaceful protest within
school premises on a decided date by
students and teachers - parents will be
welcomed to join in.
A joint prayer or moment of silence can be
observed.
BOYCOTT AWARENESS
➔ Starbucks has fired over 2000 employees
as they continue to plummet due to the
effective boycott against it.

https://bdsmovement.net/

➔ Pakistani made products or products and

brands that support the palestinian causes
are encouraged
➔ This can be tricky as a lot are either
uninformed of which products to boycott
or have trouble finding an alternative
BOYCOTT AWARENESS
➔ Alongside items, individuals who
have shown silence or lack of
support in Palestine’s case are
being called out and boycotted by
refusing to
watch/read/listen/follow them.
➔ The costs and benefits of boycotts
should be made evident to the
public, including unemployment in
our nation, thus efforts to tackle
that must be discussed.
 Boycotting the Oscars’24 on MARCH 10TH has become the
BOYCOTT AWARENESS new topic of importance with EYES ON RAFAH
BOYCOTT AWARENESS
➔ Israel has been in efforts to
downplay or hide the origins of the
products on shelves in fear of
boycotts
➔ This includes the MEDJOOL dates -
Israel was one of the largest
e porters of dates during the
month of Ramadan
➔ In 2o22 alone, the value of date
e ports alone from Israel was $338
millions
➔ These dates were farmed on illegal
settlements on occupied land
SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS
➔ Important figures in the Palestinian coverage
have emphasized the importance of constantly
posting, sharing or talking about the what is
happening in Palestine
➔ Using social media platforms of all sorts, we can
formulate a plan to continue posting once every
day at the least
➔ Sharing videos and engaging with content can
be distressful, but has been urged by SEO
optimizers as necessary to ensure the algorithm
continues showing this content and give it
traction
➔ Do NOT be afraid to speak up
➔ Do NOT post food pictures in respect of the
starvation and famine in Gaza
EDUCATE AND RELAY - BE PATIENT
➔ With misinformation and propaganda rising to
disillusion the masses, educating the students the
difference between Jewish faith and Zionism is
necessary so to avoid hate-speech or prejudices
➔ https://www.instagram.com/jewishvoiceforpeace/
?hl=en
➔ https://www.instagram.com/danielbmate/?hl=en
➔ https://www.instagram.com/gabormatemd/?hl=en
➔ https://twitter.com/pappe54?lang=en
➔ The Jewish community has been standing storn
against the genocide with great emphasis on
Zionism being a colonial mindset that is using the
Jewish faith as an e cuse to commit atrocities
@jewishvoiceforpeace
SEEK HELP - MENTAL FORTITUDE IS NECESSARY
➔ With the Genocide taking place, numerous individuals who are minors are
e posed to horrid images and videos because of their mobile access. It is
important to look after them.
➔ Individuals who are struggling with their mental health amidst all this are
encouraged to seek the school counsellor or openly talk about their
distress.
➔ It is important to continue the fight and thus requires mental fortitude.
➔ Seek advice and do not hesitate to ask for sources to further research and
educate yourself. If you require guidance, reach out to the staff without
worry.
The efforts to target
Palestinians during Ramadan is
not something unheard of, and
the genocide is also committed
in the annhilation of Palestinian
faitha and culture.
FREE PALESTINE
DO NOT FORGET OUR MISSION TO
RAISE OUR VOICES AND DO OUR
PART FOR PALESTINE, YEMEN,
PAKISTAN, SUDAN, LEBANON AND
MORE
Suggestions and volunteers for our
mission will be welcomed to see the
possibility within feasible grounds.

RAMADAN’24 is a time to act.

RAMADAN
MUBARAfi
FALASTEEN