Hundreds of students from five Spanish universities are camped on their campuses in protest of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the Strip Loop. In Valenciathe tents have been up for eleven days, while, in Madrid, Barcelonaseveral cities in Basque Country and Seville They have begun to be assembled throughout this week. The concentrations have been called to demand the breaking of agreements between Spanish universities, both public and private, and any organization or company that collaborates in any way with Israel.
These settlements originate from Columbia University in NY in which, on April 18, hundreds of students began covering the campus with tents. In a matter of hours, young people from all over the country reproduced these camps in their schools and, after being replicated in some European cities, they reached Spain. The pioneers were the students of the University of Valencia (UV), who have been sleeping in the Faculty of Philosophy since April 29 with the intention of putting pressure on the institution to sever its academic and research relations with various bodies that they blame for being “complicit in apartheid.”
Influenced by the Valencians, the Catalan university students pitched their tents on Monday in the cloister of the University of Barcelona (UB) after a demonstration in the Raval. While the people of Madrid settled down this Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at the doors of the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University (UCM). The students say that the nights are “cold”, but that “any sacrifice is minimal compared to the current suffering in Gaza.” This is how its protagonists are experiencing the camping trips: the university students.
Complutense University of Madrid
Sonia, Almudena and Daniel receive 20 minutes at the Faculty of Medicine, now covered by dozens of tents adorned with Palestinian flags and distributed across the lawn. The three agree that they decided to organize to continue with “the wave of international solidarity for Palestine” and that, as soon as word of the camp began to spread, they went to the Complutense “almost automatically.” The Madrid students decided to follow the “pioneer” trend of the Valencians by improvising a camp this Tuesday at the UCM with representation of associations from the six universities of the capital
Daniel and Sonia, 19 and 20 years old, spent the first night on campus “very cold”, but also “with joy” for the solidarity and good atmosphere with the companions with whom they played cards, played the guitar and exchanged concerns. Regarding how they make it compatible with their personal and academic lives, Sonia assures that she will remain camping “until she can bear it” and that they are developing measures, such as setting up study areas and taking turns to go to the library or to class, so as not to have to leave academic life aside in this month of exams, decisive for many university students.
Other militants have decided not to spend the night on campus, but to come and spend the day there. This is the case of Almudena, 18, who came first thing in the morning with provisions for breakfast and plans to stay all day. The young woman narrates that the associations are organized individually so that there is representation of all at “every hour of the day.” The camp is expected to last at least until the end of the week, but Carlos, a member of the URJCombativa association, explains that they are negotiating his stay “minute by minute” with the rectorate and that their plans are to stay “indefinitely” until they achieve their goals. goals.
University of Barcelona
Jazz, Aleix, Waldo and Hanny have been sleeping for two nights in the characteristic cloister of the UB. The four decided to camp after the pro-Palestinian demonstration that toured the Raval neighborhood on Monday. Jazz, 27, is American and did not hesitate to join the protest because he feels “responsibility and shame” for what his country “is doing to Israel.” “I am here representing American citizens who do not agree with the actions of the United States. “You don’t have to be there to be aware that, without American weapons and support, there would be no genocide.”
Aleix, 23 years old, is a student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and assures that he will continue camping until “the UB communicates that it is breaking academic, research and exchange relations with institutions collaborating with Israel.” Of these days of protest, what stands out is the camaraderie that is felt and the learning that his colleagues are giving him since, in the Catalan concentration, they also Palestinian refugees and refugees from Arab countries in conflict such as Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan are participating. This Wednesday the motion against the actions of the state of Israel was approved in the faculty with the rectorate, but the militant expresses that the plan is to continue until “clear objectives are achieved.”
In addition to the refugees, the Catalan concentration is the one with the most European participation. Waldo and Hanny are from the Netherlands, they study International Relations and their main incentive to spend the night at the UB is “do not normalize genocide as something that nothing can be done about.” Both remember the first night as “surprisingly easy”, but, especially Waldo, is “very disappointed” with his country after the authorities in Amsterdam evicted students camping against the “complicity of the European Union in the conflict”. The young man interprets this “repression” as a sign that “it is increasingly difficult to fight for the truth.”
University of Valencia
It all started in Valencia and this Thursday marks 11 days since the start of the camping trip at the Faculty of Philosophy of the UV, the pioneering protest that has influenced those of the rest of the provinces. All participants agree on the “pride and motivation” that these replicas have entailed, but to Laith Abdel-Qader, a West Bank Palestinian who has been participating in the protest since April 29, this camp means “much more than can be explained”. The young man claims to be “marveled” by the support for a population that lives thousands of kilometers away since he has not heard from his Jordanian relatives for months and assures that actively participating in supporting the protesters comforts him and motivates him to continue.
Like Laith, many of the participants who remain at the UV have been there since day one. This is also the case of Marc Caballer, 26 years old and a UV graduate in Hispanic studies. The now professor found out about the camp through social networks and remembers with excitement that at first there were not 15 participants, but now there are more than 150 and the number grows with each assembly. Furthermore, he assures that, despite the wear and tear that these types of protests entail, “morale is very high” due to contagion to other universities. “It is a pride to be the seed that has revived the flame of the student movements in Spain, university students have a lot of power, but we have to lose the fear of using it.”
On the other hand, Andra, 22 years old and a modern languages student, decided three days ago to join sleeping on campus and is trying to help and get involved in “every possible way” by participating in all the activities and workshops about the Arab world. what teachers and volunteers are organizing. The young woman assures that any support is welcome, but that they hope that this support will come at some point from the rectorate, cutting off their relations with Israel. For now the rector has offered a meeting with representatives of the organizing associations, but the Valencian camp has a “horizontal” organization and does not have spokespersons, so they have rejected the proposal and have invited the rector to attend an assembly.
