la evidencia
Las organizaciones lideradas por refugiados (OLR) son eficaces porque tienen un conocimiento que las organizaciones del extranjero no tienen y están impulsando soluciones para personas a las que las organizaciones del extranjero no pueden alcanzar.
As a coalition of refugee-led organizations, we at the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) represent communities who have survived conflict and forced displacement, and continue to have our rights violated. Our voices have been silenced by local authorities and the international community at large. Grounded in these experiences, we wholeheartedly stand with the Palestinian people, who are enduring yet another horrific wave of violence, displacement, occupation and collective punishment by Israeli occupation forces.
​
We are horrified by the sheer levels of violence and brutality being unleashed against the 2.1 million people living in Gaza, over 80% of whom are refugees like us. Most of the eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip—which are home to more than 1.1 million registered refugees—have been attacked by Israeli warplanes. Meanwhile, about one million people—half of Gaza’s entire population—have been displaced in the last two weeks, while tens of healthcare and humanitarian workers have been killed as they attempt to save lives amidst horrific conditions. Even those who have been displaced are not safe in places of refuge, such as hospitals. We grieve alongside Palestinians.
​
We call on decision-makers globally to use every measure available to protect the rights and freedoms of Palestinians. To this end, we call on the international community to listen to and act on the demands of Palestinians on the ground: to call for an immediate ceasefire; immediate restoration of energy, water, and communication services; immediate protection of medical facilities; and facilitation of safe passage for those seeking to evacuate, while protecting Palestinians from further displacement. We must stop the genocide of the Palestinian people.
​
While ending the current emergency is imperative, it is not enough. We must address the long-standing root causes of displacement in Palestine and around the world. To this end, we strongly urge the international community to acknowledge, address, and work to end the real root causes of the latest violence imposed on Palestinians, namely seven decades of oppression, occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid by the Israeli state. Addressing these underlying causes is imperative in ensuring Palestinians can live freely and with dignity.
​
We encourage our networks to show solidarity with Palestinians by mobilizing and calling on their governments to uphold international law and cease military, political, and economic support for Israeli occupation and violence, as well by supporting humanitarian organizations in Gaza by donating to and amplifying their work:
​
In solidarity,
The Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative