Palestinian flag joins GC atrium

High up on the atrium of FIU’s Graham Center hangs a cornucopia of international flags, representing the diverse cultures of the student body.

Thanks to the Students for Justice in Palestine council, GC introduced a new addition to the atrium, the Palestinian flag.

Jasmine Hatab, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, has wanted to see her country’s flag hung among the others since she started at FIU.

“I am Palestinian, so walking through GC with my friends who are from different countries and seeing their country’s flag in the atrium with the other flags there except mine was a bit upsetting,” said Hatab.

The SJP sent an email to the director of Administrative Operations of GC Student Affairs, Carlos F. Carrasco, including a document put together by the council to request the inclusion of the Palestinian flag onto the atrium.

The approval process took three weeks.

“I’m sure there are other flags that aren’t recognized up there. But our reasoning is that there is a large demographic of Palestinians at FIU and [an] even larger demographic that wants Palestine to be represented on campus,” said Hatab.

As for FIU’s relations with the Palestinian community, Rayid Sakib, the president of SJP and senior majoring in biomedical engineering, said that GC has been impartial toward the Palestinian conflict with other students and organizations.

“We used to do table with the Palestinian flag in GC and that would make a lot of people angry. We wouldn’t do the tabling as a club. And honestly, we don’t know why people have so many issues with us and I wish people would sit down and talk to us about them. A lot of times, a lot of people would come up to our table and say ‘Palestine doesn’t exist’ or ‘Bombs come from Palestine.’ We always try to avoid them,” said Sakib.

The SJP president also said that the more people tried to oppose them, the more motivation they had to promote their organization and fight to put up the flag.

“We aren’t trying to pick a fight with anyone. There are other people who try to spread information about Palestine or Arabia that are incorrect. Obviously we are going to make sure to prove them wrong,” said Sakib.

Simrun Rafiq, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering and a member of the SJP said that the SJP aims to spread more awareness about conflicts with Palestine.  

“A lot of people don’t know the root of the cause of what’s going on, and having the flag in the atrium is the first step,” said Rafiq.

Sakib believes that dialogue is the most effective way of getting peace. Through it, all parties can “acknowledge each other’s struggles”

“It’s healthy to a degree. It brings conversation because it clears misconceptions and sometimes others do listen and we listen to them and it fosters a more tolerant environment,” said Rafiq.

The organization has been officially active since March of this year, with 10 council members.

SJP released a statement on Facebook, saying that they are proud that the University works to make sure students are comfortable and proudly displays the diversity of FIU.

The organization also expressed their gratitude with the University for taking their requests into consideration and caring about their students.

“I’m not sure If I’m proud to see the Palestinian flag up there. FIU has most of all major countries flag in GC’s atrium and only Palestine is missing. I feel like GC had no choice. If they wouldn’t have put the flag up, they would’ve been looking for trouble because we would’ve fought to have the flag up there anyway,” said Sakib.

 

 

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