There has been an ongoing crisis in Palestine for years, and for many it is hard to feel like they have the power to do something. Global conflicts can often leave people feeling powerless, but at Winona State University there are people stepping up to ensure that students and staff know that they can directly help families on the ground in Gaza.
The Turtle Island Student Organization (TISO) and the Winona State Reproductive Justice club have joined forces to give students a space where they can directly impact people in Palestine. The Garage Sale for Gaza hosted a clothing drive where students could donate clothes, artwork, and jewelry so it can be sold, and the profits will directly impact families in Gaza.
Jess Weis, a fifth year public relations major here at Winona State is a leader within the Reproductive Justice club and she is one of the people who is responsible for the organization of this event.
“The Garage Sale for Gaza is an event that TISO and Reproductive Justice came up with to fundraise money for those on the ground in Gaza, specifically families on the ground in Gaza,” Weis said. “And all of the money that we are raising goes directly to people. We’re not touching it. So, there are QR codes available for people to scan and donate that way.”
This event holds a lot of significance not just for the Winona State students, but for the people organizing it. Even in clubs that are social justice centered, it is sometimes hard to know how to help people caught in such a large, global event such as what’s happening in Gaza.
Zoë VandeBerg, a third year sociology major and a member of TISO, understands how large these global catastrophes can feel, but she also knows how important organizing to help those directly impacted is.
“I feel like it’s really easy to feel, like, kind of paralyzed by everything that’s going on, and to feel like you’re really small and [that] it’s hard to make any sort of impact,” Vandeberg said. “And so, I think this was a way that we collectively decided that we could organize together through cross movement organizing and work together to actually do something tangible.”
This event also holds a lot of significance because looking back on the United States history it is easy to see a connection between what the US did to Indigenous people and what Isreal is doing to Gaza. That makes this event so important to TISO, Indigenous people, and their allies.
“I feel like, as an Indigenous person, it’s very jarring to just watch what’s happening, because that’s exactly what happened in the United States when we were being colonized, and so we’re watching it back again, and I just feel like it’s very important for us to be in solidarity [with Gaza] as Indigenous people, coming from my perfective, and also as allies. It’s painful to watch it happen again and for nothing to be stopping it.” Vandeberg said.
Part of this event is also based around educating people on the conflict in Gaza. Not only will this event help students understand the conflict in Gaza more, but it can also help them examine their own biases and complacency that may exist as a result of living in a country that allies themselves with Isreal in this conflict.
Ty Bergner, a fourth-year social studies education major and a member of TISO notes the importances of connecting the colonization of America to the Isreal-Gaza conflict and how this event will help people examine their biases and think about their allyship.
“The bottom line is, are you okay, morally, as an individual with a country that is occupying a space, and the people in that space, Palestinians, have a different set of rights than the people occupying it. I think people need to examine that before making assertions about what’s going on, and you need to examine that within yourself.” Bergner said. “This event is a good way to get students more knowledgeable about what’s going on and to confront those things.”
Allowing people to examine their internal biases is a very important part of becoming educated and becoming an ally in the face of a large conflict such as this one. The Garage Sale for Gaza acts as an everyday resistance in the US, a country with heavy ties to Isreal.
“Our country has a vested interest in what’s happening in Palestine, and our government is very much in alliance with Isreal. And so that makes us as citizens of the United States complicate in their actions. And so any sort of everyday resistance that we can do as people who are associate with the oppressors in this situation we could be taking those steps.” VandeBerg, said.
This event is not the only way for people to become more educated on the conflict in Gaza. In the Spring Semester there will be a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies course centered around this conflict and how it is a feminist issue.
This event is being held in the KEAP center in Kryzsko commons from November 12-15 from 3:30-6 pm. This is a “drop in when you can” event, and in the KEAP center there will be QR codes where people can read about Palestinian families and their experience on the ground during this conflict. Through these QR codes, people will be able to donate directly to the families and the profits will go only to those families, no one else will be touching the funds.
