Posted on Nov 13, 2023
A Palestinian American in Seattle holds her family's history close as war rages in Gaza
208
8
2
4
4
0
Sabrene Odeh of Seattle has spent a lifetime advocating for human rights and she only just turned 29 years old.
She went to her first protest for Palestinian rights with her father when she was 4. Since then, she has participated in demonstrations for the Black community, taken to the streets in support of Indigenous people in Washington state, and continued her activism on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
When she’s not protesting, Odeh works for the International Rescue Committee as an advocate for survivors of human trafficking. She knows the multi-generational impact of trauma, both from her own life and from the lives of the people she helps.
That work and her lifetime of activism has prepared her, in some sense, to respond to the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, the Israeli assault on Gaza that followed, and the escalating violence in the West Bank, where much of her family still lives.
But the ongoing violence has gotten to her and her family. Her father, Amin, who talks weekly with his siblings who remain in the West Bank, hasn’t been sleeping. He was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She went to her first protest for Palestinian rights with her father when she was 4. Since then, she has participated in demonstrations for the Black community, taken to the streets in support of Indigenous people in Washington state, and continued her activism on behalf of Palestinian human rights.
When she’s not protesting, Odeh works for the International Rescue Committee as an advocate for survivors of human trafficking. She knows the multi-generational impact of trauma, both from her own life and from the lives of the people she helps.
That work and her lifetime of activism has prepared her, in some sense, to respond to the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, the Israeli assault on Gaza that followed, and the escalating violence in the West Bank, where much of her family still lives.
But the ongoing violence has gotten to her and her family. Her father, Amin, who talks weekly with his siblings who remain in the West Bank, hasn’t been sleeping. He was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
A Palestinian American in Seattle holds her family's history close as war rages in Gaza
Posted from kuow.org
Palestine
Israel
Seattle
Rights
Family
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 2
4
4
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."While the world sees a violent response to a violent act, what Odeh sees is the result of decades of oppression, harassment, and occupation. Over the years, she has seen countless nonviolent approaches rebuffed, efforts to advocate for human rights diminished. As someone who has been an activist for most of her life, she is unable to see what’s happening now in Gaza or in Israel in a vacuum separate from the history that preceded it.
“We’re coming so hard to defend our people because we've seen it over and over again,” she said. “We get pushed to the side when we’ve come to the table nonviolently. But now that there’s this huge violent action, now we have to justify, now we're all spokespeople for Oct. 7. Personally, I'm not really interested in doing that. And I hope that you're hearing from many Palestinians that none of us are supportive of the loss of life, ever. We would never want anybody to be killed. So, I hope that that is highlighted more than anything else.”
..."While the world sees a violent response to a violent act, what Odeh sees is the result of decades of oppression, harassment, and occupation. Over the years, she has seen countless nonviolent approaches rebuffed, efforts to advocate for human rights diminished. As someone who has been an activist for most of her life, she is unable to see what’s happening now in Gaza or in Israel in a vacuum separate from the history that preceded it.
“We’re coming so hard to defend our people because we've seen it over and over again,” she said. “We get pushed to the side when we’ve come to the table nonviolently. But now that there’s this huge violent action, now we have to justify, now we're all spokespeople for Oct. 7. Personally, I'm not really interested in doing that. And I hope that you're hearing from many Palestinians that none of us are supportive of the loss of life, ever. We would never want anybody to be killed. So, I hope that that is highlighted more than anything else.”
(4)
(0)
0
0
0
When was the last time they came to the table and kept the agreements? Who pushed them to the side but their own people. Who did they put into power in Gaza. In her very short lifetime she has seen little based on her words. Time for her to get here head out the sand.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google