To be an Arab in the National Liberation Struggle
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On Monday, November 11, a coalition of 17 McGill and Concordia University student organizations hosted a fundraising event for Gaza and Lebanon titled *Food & Falastine Fundraiser: Middle East and North African Youth.
The title’s second part sparked some debate, as feedback indicated it might be restrictive, suggesting that support for Palestine is not exclusive to Arab or Middle Eastern and North African youth.
Arab political identity is deeply intertwined with historical struggles, often fractured by European colonial powers such as the British and the French. As Houda articulates, to identify as Arab means embracing a collective identity that transcends imposed borders.
At McGill University, many Arab students come from privileged backgrounds, often from the UAE, and may not be highly politicized due to their socioeconomic status and upbringing. However, over the past year, amid the intensifying crisis in Gaza, there has been a growing urgency for Arabs in the diaspora to reconnect and mobilize for the broader national liberation movement. Yet, a challenge persists as some of these individuals remain distant from the struggle back home. This is significant because the Palestinian liberation struggle is inherently a shared fight for all Arab youth. Our collective identity is inseparable from the fate of our people in our homeland. As Asal explains in Identifying as Arab, “collective identity is always constructed and relational, rooted in history and social dynamics” (16).
Malcolm X once said, “We cannot think of uniting with others until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”
This is why the event was titled to center Middle Eastern and North African youth—aiming to foster unity among Arab youth and encourage organization under a shared banner.