An unquestionable reply: When 21-year-old Citlaly Hernandez was asked why she was taking part in a pro-Palestinian camp, the answer was a resounding: "I'm Mexican." For her, solidarity with Gaza makes perfect sense, that of a community of destinies. "I've seen the same battles," she said.
The student was wearing a sweatshirt calling for the "liberation of Palestine" and a "Yellowstone" (national park) cap, from which a few pink-colored locks of hair protruded. Since April 25, she has been occupying a tent on the Auraria campus in Denver (Colorado), one of the first to be pitched on the "quad," the central median strip. On April 26, she and 40 other students were arrested by Denver police for trespassing. A few hours later, the tents were back in place. Since then, the police have not returned.
After months of protest marches against genocide, after laying siege to the Colorado Capitol demanding that elected officials support a ceasefire in Gaza, Denver students followed the national movement launched at Columbia University in New York. They put up their tents. "We were tired of not being heard," said Hernandez, a final-year psychology student. "We wanted to escalate the situation." The esplanade has now become home to some 50 tents. Hernandez's tent reflects her indignation: "The United States has sent more than $300 billion to Israel since 1948." Held in detention for less than 24 hours, Hernandez has received a court summons for May 24.
Most of the students at Auraria come from modest backgrounds. Many work to pay for their studies. The campus, which brings together three public institutions (Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University and a branch of the University of Colorado, whose main campus is in Boulder), is a far cry from the elite universities of the large metropoles. Pro-Palestinian protest has a different tone here. "My parents told me to have a serving heart," said Randi Fuentes, a young man of Salvadoran origin, the first in his family to go on to higher education.
Like Hernandez, many see the conflict as a struggle for land, the land of which indigenous people have been dispossessed "all over the world." "It's their right to be there," she said calmly, referring to the Palestinians. "Their right to ask for the land back."
Visit by Angela Davis
On the very first day of occupation, Mayor Mike Johnston came to the site. Having had great difficulty removing homeless tents from downtown, he didn't seem too pleased to see new tents erected on public land, which the university administration had precisely banned from use by homeless people under the bylaw now invoked against students. The mayor invited them to dismantle the camp. "We're trying to make sure we can help you exercise your right to protest peacefully," he argued. "Fascist!" retorted one activist.
You have 63.11% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.