Washington, DC – On May 1, at the invitation of the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), the students at the George Washington University Encampment, informally called the Popular University for Gaza, hosted the Freedom Road Socialist Organization for a May Day panel.

The event featured speakers from the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR), DMV PYM, EarthRights United, and a representative from the GW Student Coalition for Palestine (SCP).

The panel opened with a statement from a member of the FRSO and emcee for the event discussing the origin of May Day and its importance. “The tradition and practice of celebrating May Day as a workers’ day – a day of struggle, where all people of the working class look forward to a better future – is already ingrained into the fabric of cities across the U.S., including and especially right here in D.C.”

The speakers took turns answering questions and sharing their perspectives. Each participant spoke to their unique organizing experiences and struggles, while connecting everything back together. “The ways in which we are brutalized and oppressed are the same,” said Kristen Bonner of DCAARPR, “the same tactics that our police forces use here – kettling, noise violence, tear gassing, batons, rubber bullets – these are the exact same things the IOF is doing to Palestinians''

“What we’re fighting for is huge,” added Audrey Schreiber of EarthRights United, “there is pain in the struggle and in the movement, but make sure it doesn’t fall onto your comrades”

A member of DMV PYM said, “It’s important to learn from the struggles of our comrades.” Summarizing the importance of the student movement in the greater struggle against imperialism, they added a quote from the late Palestinian writer and political leader Ghassan Kanafani, “Imperialism has laid its body over the world, the head in Eastern Asia, the heart in the Middle East, its arteries reaching Africa and Latin America. Wherever you strike it, you damage it, and you serve the world revolution.”

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