10/29/2024
My brothers and sisters,
Today, I speak to you about a people who endure one of the oldest stories of resilience and suffering. It is the story of the Palestinian people, who daily face unspeakable pain with unbreakable determination. They resist with the lives of their children and youth; they witness the sacrifices of their mothers and fathers. They carve words of defiance and hope into the stones of their land, a language that speaks louder than silence.
For decades, the Palestinian people have suffered the brutality of forced displacement from their homeland, from their homes that are torn down before their eyes. They see their dreams sink under the weight of oppression. The towns and villages across Palestine share a similar pain, where not a day goes by without more innocent lives taken, and more of their young men and women unjustly imprisoned. They live in constant fear on a land that has held their roots for generations, yet barriers and walls now separate brother from brother and mother from child.
Our people wake and sleep to the sounds of explosions, and under the shadow of arbitrary arrests and oppressive measures that target men, women, the elderly, and children alike. They live a daily tragedy in full view of the world, which sees yet remains silent, which hears yet chooses to ignore. Our children grow up deprived, witnessing their schools demolished, while their hospitals struggle to treat the wounded and heal the broken. Our youth, exiled or imprisoned, carry a heavy burden.
And amid all this pain, there remains an undying spark in their hearts: the love of their land and the spirit of resistance. Their heads do not bow before the forces of tyranny and oppression. Today, we speak not only of a people resisting occupation but of a people who bear the wounds of humanity itself and who set an example to the world in their commitment to justice and freedom.
Brothers and sisters, the tragedy of the Palestinian people is not merely a story; it is a cry that calls upon the world to stand beside them, not only with words but with actions that affirm our commitment to human rights. The world must awaken to the suffering of Palestinians, in the hope that one day justice will return to its rightful place.
