Sept. 15 marked the 30th anniversary of the Sabra andShatila massacre. In New Haven, Conn., activists participated in an educational meeting and protest march in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.
The meeting and demonstration marked the massacre of several thousand men, women and children in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, just outside Beirut, Lebanon. From Sept. 15 though Sept. 18, 1982, Israeli Defense Forces supported the South Lebanon Army and fascist Lebanese Phalangists in entering the refugee camps to carry out the brutal attacks.
The educational meeting featured video, audio and picture presentations of reports of activists who had traveled to the refugee camp in the hours and days after the massacre.
After the meeting, a march started through downtown New Haven. Fifty people, accompanied by a percussion band, carried Palestinian flags and signs calling for the right of return of Palestinians to land stolen by Israel. Many people who saw the march were supportive; a group of students joined the march when they saw the banners and signs supporting the Palestinian people. The Middle East Crisis Committee, which celebrated its 30th anniversary after being founded in response to the massacre, called the demonstration.
Sabra and Shatila was another chapter in the murderous events of 1982 for Lebanese and Palestinian people at the hands of the IDF—with the full support of the U.S. government under Ronald Reagan. Three months of relentless bombing had resulted in some 20,000 Palestinians and Lebanese killed. In early September, an agreement allowed Palestine Liberation Organization fighters to be evacuated from the Beirut area to Tunisia, while guaranteeing security and safety for Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Within days of the PLO fighters leaving the camps, the massacre began.
Members of the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition in Connecticut took part in the demonstration and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people as they continue their struggle for self-determination.
