Media should give Palestinians the chance to tell our story: Ambassador

“What the Palestinians are asking for is the chance, and the right, to tell our story,” Ambassador of Palestine to India Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh has said. He was speaking at a Palestine solidarity meet held on the opening day of the four-day International Media Festival of Kerala (IMFK), organised by the Kerala Media Academy, here on Monday.

Mr. Shawesh who was the chief guest at the event urged the gathering not to stop asking questions, criticise, or raise their voice against the genocide in Gaza. “This is the only way to tell the truth,” he said.

He pointed out that it had been 724 days of “relentless” Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Nearly 1,50,000 tonnes of explosive material had been dropped. The assault by Israel had claimed the lives of 65,000 people, a majority of them women and children. ‘Between 12,000 and 15,000 remain missing. Many are buried under the rubble, some dismembered, others have vanished without a trace. Thousands of children are orphaned,” he said.

Palestine Ambassador to India Abdullah Abu Shawesh along with Finance Minister of Kerala K.N. Balagopal release balloons showing solidarity with Palestine during a function organised by the Kerala Media Academy at Tagore Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN

The war against the Palestinian people had taken many forms. The first was the televised genocide that people around the world were seeing for the past two years. However, another war that was equally dangerous, if not more, was the propaganda war by Israel. Its aim was to falsify history and rewrite the narrative. One of its earliest slogans declared Palestine as land without people for people without land, Mr. Shawesh said.

He alleged that the Western media even denied the very existence of Palestine. “They paint us as anarchist, uncivil, and above all as terrorists.”

He observed that the media reporting on Palestine was not enough. “Media has to go further to give us a chance to tell our story.” Putting the number of Palestinian journalists killed while reporting on the conflict at 252, he said they had been deliberately targeted and killed for exposing the “truth,” Mr. Shawesh said.

He praised Israeli journalist Gideon Levy for constantly showing courage and integrity in showing the truth. Social media often censored the voice of Palestinians. But it had also given Palestinians the tool to share glimpses of their daily suffering. ‘Technology allows us to record, to photograph and show the world in real time what we endure.” He urged the gathering to amplify the realities of Gaza to the world.

Minister for Finance K.N. Balagopal expressed regret that not everyone was ready to oppose the assault on Palestine. “Kerala stands firmly with the people of Palestine,” he said. More than 300 journalists had been killed in Gaza. They included not only journalists working in formal organisations but also those who had sacrificed their lives for the sake of democracy and humanity, he said. Kerala Media Academy chairperson R.S. Babu presided over the function.

Earlier, Mr. Balagopal and Mr. Shawesh jointly inaugurated the event by releasing kites and balloons with the message ‘Kites rise, so will Palestine.’