Everyday since October 7 of last year, we awake to news of the genocide worsening. The people and their lives are being constantly decimated in all imaginable and unimaginable ways. Whether you are a Palestinian or a human being with a functional heart and soul, you can’t help but feel rage and disillusionment take over. The veneer of the democratic, civilized, and liberal West has crumbled into ashes. However, the most dominant state of mind is this pervasive sense of our insignificance. You are a student of Georgetown University – studying politics and foreign affairs, and are likely an active participant of the debate club or the Model UN. Yet, all your A-graded papers and well-crafted arguments are rendered futile in the face of the mass execution and extermination of the Gazan population. So, here is a solution: put on your finest attire and prepare to hear carefully worded speeches from professionals, repeating insights you could have easily found in their media appearances or research publications. This conference will be named "Reimagining Palestine," however, the Palestinian flag will never be exhibited! Also, feel free to take pictures with your idols and whenever you get thirsty, ask for a Pepsi or a 7 Up, because get this, – the conference will be serving them!
This article does not mean to attack any of the speakers or undermine the work they have done for the Palestinian cause. Rather, it simply questions the viability and morality of allocating a substantial amount of money to host a luxurious conference that talks about people who are deprived of access to their most basic rights of clean water, dignified food, and shelter. People would argue that a conference is a great venue for dialogue, networking, and an opportunity of meeting our virtual heroes that we follow on Instagram. Yet, I would argue that this is not the time for social gatherings or "dinner-like conversations," not while a genocide is ongoing and no aspect of this conference could stop it. Dialogues and networking cannot happen over atrocities and bloodshed. And I am quite certain that no dinner conversation would be that costly! One simple project dedicated to collecting key information regarding the genocidal state, gathering opinions from various speakers who’d re-iterated their thoughts repeatedly before this conference, and then launching it to the public would have been more effective. The rest of the money could’ve been spent on other areas that required funding, as opposed to holding a costly conference in an unnecessarily expensive venue.
If we were in 2003 and the American invasion of Iraq had just started, wouldn't it be completely absurd to host "The Invasion of Iraq: Regional Reflections" Hiwaraat conference? Would it be morally correct to wear a nice outfit, get free food and coffee, sit in a 5-star hotel and discuss the matter? It made much more sense to host it after 20 years of the war, as a venue for academic and intellectual assessment and reflection. Having a conference that does not offer anything new and allocating needless amounts of money for it at a critical time is like purchasing a pricey concealer which — oops, too bad — fails to hide your dark circles! It is shameful that a conference that "reimagines Palestine" served boycotted drinks from brands complicit in the killing of the Palestinians, nor to give daring and undiplomatic statements. Media passes were not even permitted; as if it was doing something wrong! The Palestinian flag was nowhere to be seen, save for the colors of the poster. This conference’s walking on eggshells resulted in a half-done delivery of justice. It turned into a completely absurd and dystopian scene, as someone mentioned in the conference, "there is no such a thing as half justice."
The article is not to discourage great efforts that come out of our despair to do something and to not just be paralyzed witnesses. In fact, it celebrates the various initiatives that have been launched to support the Gazan evacuees in Qatar. However, this conference did not come at an ideal time and it hadn’t delivered the hoped-for messages to benefit the suffering Gazans, or the yearning audience. When it comes to educating the crowd, Hiwaraat has not offered a voice for the voiceless — the invited speakers had already spoken in various outlets and they did not disclose anything new that could not be found elsewhere. When it comes to suffering Palestinians, the conference does not offer a lot of meaningful consolation. Hiwaraat caused a lot of resentment among the student body, especially among Palestinians themselves, which is reflected in the low amount of student representation. There is no denying that Hiwaraat is a great opportunity to have these highly-established individuals in one place and engage with them. Yet, the conference falls short in contributing anything impactful to the fight against the genocide, and does not justify its hefty costs.
During the process of publishing this article, Israel bombed Lebanon and experts are expecting ground invasion. Are we about to “Reimagine Lebanon” anytime soon, too? It makes one’s heart ache to see our lands being ravaged, and our people suffering and the only thing we can do is host a pretentious, intellectual, elitist, and dystopian gathering. Which fears publicly announcing its existence. Sure, we all fall short to do anything that could stop Israel’s constant violation of international laws, but there should be something more sincere and helpful we can do than drink Pepsi while indulging in an expensive meal, or listening to a repeated speech that does nothing about the ethnic cleansing nor the expanding destruction happening in Palestine and Lebanon right as we speak. The conference contributes to the decolonization of academia and it is heartening to see Arabs discussing Arab matters. Still, not now, but hopefully soon!
The author wishes to clarify that this statement is not intended to cause harm or offense to the conference organizers or participants. It simply represents thoughts which need expression.
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