Pro-Palestinian student groups organize two-day ‘tent city’ exhibit, vigil following ceasefire deal

Duke community members honored the over 46,600 Palestinian lives lost throughout the Israel-Hamas war during a vigil held on the Bryan Center Plaza stage Thursday.

The “Ceasefire Vigil for Palestine” was organized by Duke Students for Justice in Palestine and followed a two-day tent exhibit highlighting the harsh day-to-day conditions experienced by many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The two-day event took place three weeks after Israel and Hamas announced a three-stage ceasefire deal Jan. 15 to bring an end to the 15-month war and release the hostages being held in Gaza. The agreement went into effect Jan. 19.

‘Gaza’s Tent City’

Titled “Gaza’s Tent City,” the interactive exhibit featured about 10 tents arranged in a semicircle, inviting visitors to walk through and engage with various stations, each displaying the realities of daily life for displaced Palestinians. 

The first station, “Starving Gaza into Submission,” highlighted the food insecurity that leaves the average Palestinian in northern Gaza with access to only an estimated 245 calories worth of food per day. To demonstrate what that looks like, the station displayed two loaves of bread with peanut butter spread on them.

“Hygiene Denied” showed how displaced Palestinians’ lack of access to clean water in crowded, unsanitary tents has led to health hazards, such as outbreaks of diarrhea, skin diseases and respiratory infections. The station displayed three jars of water to illustrate the severe water scarcity, as well as pads and a scrap of fabric to demonstrate the lack of menstrual hygiene resources.

Opposite the station was the “Gaza Food Market,” which displayed inflation and fluctuation in food prices in Gaza. Basic food items from a carton of eggs to a box of powdered milk were placed on a table to showcase the disparities in cost before and after the war.

“Attacks on Health Care” described Israeli attacks on medical facilities in Gaza and the resulting dysfunction of health care services. A burnt white coat with blood stains was displayed on the table.

The last station, “Education Under Attack,” detailed the deprivation of educational opportunities for Palestinian youth in the context of “scholasticide,” which entails the destruction of educational infrastructure and killing of students and teachers. The station featured exam preparation textbooks with charred edges.

The organizers also played the sound of drones to simulate the noises heard daily by Gazans.

In the vigil’s opening address, one of the exhibit’s organizers described the display as a “visual representation of what it's like when tenting isn't voluntary,” comparing Duke’s tradition of tenting to secure tickets to Duke men’s basketball’s rivalry game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the plight of homeless Palestinians seeking temporary makeshift shelter.

“All of this is just a taste of what Gazans have endured for the past year and a half. Placed over there, we have 186,000 grains of rice,” an organizer said, describing a display of yellow and white grains of rice at the exhibit. “The yellow [grains represent] women and children, while the white [grains represent] men killed by Israel. Today we gather to honor them.”

‘Ceasefire Vigil for Palestine’

The vigil opened with a moment of silence to commemorate the Palestinian lives lost throughout the war.

Ayaz Pathan, an emergency medical specialist who spent three weeks this summer in Gaza on a medical mission, spoke first about his personal experiences witnessing barriers to health care access in the region. He centered his speech on the feeling of “failure,” in particular recalling being unable to provide pain medicine to a child due to the general lack of medical supplies flowing into the region.

Still, Pathan highlighted the “generosity” of the Palestinian he met despite their poor living conditions.

“The people had no food, and yet they would not allow me not to eat something with them,” Pathan said. “Their families in their tents would cook food and say, ‘take it to the American doctor, I want him to eat this food,’ and they would not eat until I took a bite.”

According to Pathan, many of the Palestinians he encountered continued to maintain hope amid the war. He spoke about making a promise to them that he would “tell the world [about the conditions in Gaza] so that [it] know[s] what is going on.”

Rev. Mark Davidson, executive director of Voices for Justice in Palestine, began his speech by honoring the Palestinian “martyrs” whose deaths — he said — were “not in vain” but instead made a “permanent, positive difference” in eliciting “greater sympathy for the Palestinian cause.” He stressed the importance of commemorating these Palestinians by “telling the truth of what was done to them.”

“We honor them by showing the Palestinian people that we do share in their dream of a free Palestine and their martyrs have not died in vain,” Davidson said. “I believe that the ultimate value and meaning of their sacrifice will, in the end, be redemptive.”

He also commended the “amazing tenacity, defiance and resilience” of the Palestinian people, noting that despite months of Israeli bombardment reducing houses and critical infrastructure to debris, “it failed utterly in breaking the spirit of the Palestinian people.”

Joshua Salaam, chaplain and director of the Center for Muslim Life, opened his speech by wishing peace upon members of the audience and reflecting on the loss of innocent lives in Gaza.

Salaam emphasized the importance of “intellectual discourse” surrounding the conflict, calling for open dialogue on campus and respectful conversations between those with differing opinions.

“We should not fear dialogue. We encourage it,” he said. “… Let’s examine the evidence together. This is what institutions like Duke are meant to facilitate: open, honest, rigorous debate grounded in truth.”

For Salaam, no country is “exempt from our correction,” underscoring his belief that no power can “operate outside the law” and that people have an obligation to speak up when they see “corruption.”

“Let's be clear, our work is not done just because a ceasefire has been called. A ceasefire does not erase the horrors that have been unfolded. It does not bring back those who were killed,” Salaam said. “… The struggle for justice, dignity and freedom for the Palestinian people must continue.”

Throughout the event, Student Affairs personnel were stationed nearby to monitor security and ensure compliance with University policy, including the recently updated Pickets, Protests and Demonstrations policy.

The vigil concluded with the recitation of a poem and the song “Amor Eterno,” or “eternal love,” delivered by students.

Editor's note: This article was updated Friday morning to update the language in a quote to say "Gazans."