Rami Almeghari writing from occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 18 January 2011
"....The next day five members of the eight-member group -- Abu Yazan, Abu George, Abu Awn, Edward and Jamila -- gathered in Gaza City for an interview with The Electronic Intifada. The group, which includes three women, are all university graduates. Their "Manifesto for Change" published on Facebook circulated widely on the Internet and was covered by international publications such as The Guardian and The New York Times.
Members of GYBO, who come mostly from different refugee camps around Gaza, use pseudonyms to keep their identities confidential from fear they could get in trouble with the authorities. The group also refused to be photographed for The Electronic Intifada.
"We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community!" the manifesto states after opening with some strong, attention-grabbing expletives. "We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16s breaking the wall of sound.".....
Members of the group were keen to stress that they consider it their right to decry the entire situation in the Gaza Strip, but they do not compare what they consider as a corruption within some political parties including the ruling Hamas movement, with the Israeli occupation's actions against the Palestinian people. For them the root-cause of Palestinian problems is the Israeli occupation and this occupation must come to an end once and for all.
The group also said it had contacted some rights groups and academics regarding their manifesto and that they will later start contacting some officials within the government in order to legalize their upcoming steps, which are yet to be revealed, according to Abu Yazan.
The group has been encouraged by the messages of support they received from people inside and outside Gaza and plan to issue more statements soon. Their next step may be to present themselves to the public in larger numbers by holding a press conference. What is clear is that they refuse to be silenced and have proven that they can and will be heard."
"....The next day five members of the eight-member group -- Abu Yazan, Abu George, Abu Awn, Edward and Jamila -- gathered in Gaza City for an interview with The Electronic Intifada. The group, which includes three women, are all university graduates. Their "Manifesto for Change" published on Facebook circulated widely on the Internet and was covered by international publications such as The Guardian and The New York Times.
Members of GYBO, who come mostly from different refugee camps around Gaza, use pseudonyms to keep their identities confidential from fear they could get in trouble with the authorities. The group also refused to be photographed for The Electronic Intifada.
"We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community!" the manifesto states after opening with some strong, attention-grabbing expletives. "We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16s breaking the wall of sound.".....
Members of the group were keen to stress that they consider it their right to decry the entire situation in the Gaza Strip, but they do not compare what they consider as a corruption within some political parties including the ruling Hamas movement, with the Israeli occupation's actions against the Palestinian people. For them the root-cause of Palestinian problems is the Israeli occupation and this occupation must come to an end once and for all.
The group also said it had contacted some rights groups and academics regarding their manifesto and that they will later start contacting some officials within the government in order to legalize their upcoming steps, which are yet to be revealed, according to Abu Yazan.
The group has been encouraged by the messages of support they received from people inside and outside Gaza and plan to issue more statements soon. Their next step may be to present themselves to the public in larger numbers by holding a press conference. What is clear is that they refuse to be silenced and have proven that they can and will be heard."
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