No Keffiyahs Allowed: Salah Said, a Palestinian from Germany Shares His Story
WHAT is happening in Germany? An Activist for Palestine and Climate Justice Shares the German State Crackdowns on Pro Palestine Speech
LISTEN HERE:
Days after my recording with Salah Said, a Palestinian activist from Germany, he recorded a social media video that made the hair on my arm stand up, where upon returning from a protest, his friend group notices someone following them. It gets more nerve-wracking to the point where they stop police to help them, and in the scene that unfolds, the police question the man following them. They notice the man has an earpiece and leans over to whisper something to the police, who then take the man following them away in a police car. After taking the follower away, the police now surrounded the protestors for some fear, discomfort and interrogation. Yes, the ones being followed were treated like the perpetrators.
The street scenes of Pro-Palestinian protests in Germany are wild. Scenes like this are hard to describe, you just have to see them:
These aren’t anomalies, there’s something going on that we don’t see in the US, often because the news here doesn’t cover it, but also the news from Germany is in German, and unless it’s translated, it’s not ending up on OUR radar. Knowing Salah has now been followed in the story described above makes it all the more surreal.
In this episode, I talk to Salah Said, a Palestinian from Germany; as an activist, he’s uniquely qualified to shed light on the meaning of censorship, media language, government attitudes and the political climate to have an informative and robust discussion. Amnesty International gives a view to this as well. Germany is totally off the US public’s radar, and you need to peel the onion to consider yourself informed.
LISTEN HERE:
Even if you're not active on issues about Palestine, you should understand the political environment in Germany, which includes the rise of far-right extremism, government censorship and general banning of many modes of expression.
Salah is passionate about justice, not just for Palestinian causes, but the colonization issues of our day and across the globe: Sudan, Congo; and the idea of climate justice being innately related to our world genocides. If you are looking to understand things from more diverse sources, follow him.
A self-proclaimed democracy responsible for the holocaust if anything should be making sure conversations happen, not get quashed amidst the attempt to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians. I hope you find the episode informative.
And like many of us deeply impacted mentally by seeing the atrocities get amped up every day, we take a moment for Salah's personal experience on the imperative to be present for Palestine, while struggling with daily atrocities of a g-cide meant to bring you down. Together, hearing each others' stories, we can find motivation to stay present and hold space for Palestine in the struggle for liberation everywhere. Hint, have you even talked to a Palestinian, bro?
This week's links:
Salah's IG https://www.instagram.com/salah_said90/
Threads: salah_said90
Support Salah and Manar’s fight against misinformation:
https://donorbox.org/support-salah-and-manar
And the article of the year, reposted:
https://lithub.com/making-space-for-palestinian-happiness/
Thanks for listening, habibi, and remember, gen0cide is always wrong.
-Hazem Jamal