Back to News Between waiting for change and creating it
Real change doesn't begin with extraordinary moments. It grows through everyday organizing.
This article was originally published by New Arab. Access the full article here. (Available in Arabic, French, Spanish, and Turkish.)
Written by: Reem Manaa, Executive Director of Ahel
The reality is harsh, that much is certain. There is a stifling of freedom of expression and assembly, war, killing, and a constant threat to land and lives in our region, and an occupation that relentlessly expands its control. Despite this, collective action does not cease.
Various groups are organizing their resources and people within campaigns that seek to bring about change on multiple issues, ranging from political organizing for Palestine and advocacy for the rights of basic economic and social groups, to small local initiatives that manage the details of daily life.
But when these “small” organizations are mentioned, the reactions are rarely encouraging or celebratory. They are often dismissed as not being political enough to confront this reality, or they are burdened with unrealistic expectations of leading comprehensive transformations in closed spaces.
There are several reasons for this reaction to this type of initiative and organization. The first, and most obvious, is frustration and a feeling of powerlessness to effect change, as if the context has become so difficult that transformative action is virtually impossible.
The second relates to the emergence of an ethical dilemma in discussing campaigns with seemingly “small” goals, even among those leading them. When injustice is so great, the comparison becomes absolute, and partial achievements, however necessary, seem insignificant.
What is the value of a campaign that provides daily food for people in Gaza if it doesn’t end the siege? How can building a bathroom for female farm workers be viewed in the face of grand slogans of social justice, or preventing the marriage of dozens of child girls within a system that continues to perpetuate the same phenomenon?
A third reason is the implicit assumption that “real struggle” is what mobilizes the public and raises major demands in a clear and visible event, while other, “smaller” forms of organization and action are seen as circumventing the “original mission” or as mere adaptation to the status quo.
Therefore, when students organize themselves, for example, around demands related to their daily learning conditions, such as demanding practical training hours, this is seen as a secondary concern that is not consistent with what is supposed to be the “historical political role” of the student movement.
