Destruction Over Dialogue
A protester feeding a VIU rabbit.
Image Via: Murray Bush
At The Quad, the small plaza situated at the centre of Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo Campus, there is evidence of a previously long-standing presence upon the few small patches of grass adjourning the paved pathways.
The grass is flattened, dry, and discoloured, and in places it shows remnants of paint where short parting messages are written in bold letters.
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After 110 days of peaceful protest, the Palestinian Solidarity Encampment (PSE) was dismantled. The site was one of the last remaining pro-Palestinian student encampments in Canada.
Demolition crew.
IMAGE VIA: Murray Bush
Demolition crew.
IMAGE VIA: Murray Bush
BC’s Supreme Court rendered its decision on the VIU-filed civil case on August 15, siding with the university. Although the courts did not entirely cave to the university’s excessive demands—some of which included a court enforced student-wide curfew from 11 pm to 7 am and RCMP enforcement—the judge ultimately ordered the encampment to be removed within 72 hours of the final ruling.
Three days later, PSE activists fed flowers to the campus’ iconic bunnies as figures dressed in white hazmat suits marched on the encampment.
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With saws and drills, they tore down barriers painted with pleas for peace and freedom and an end to the ongoing genocide.
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I spoke with Sara Kishawi, a lauded voice speaking on behalf of the liberation of Palestine, noted figure in pro-Palestinian protests at VIU, and one of the student defendants named in the university’s civil case against those involved with the encampment.
“Obviously we are disheartened by what VIU has done and the way things have ended,” Kishawi says. “Our fight at the university is not over. There are things we still need to do. And there are things [VIU] need[s] to do, also, to ensure the safety on campus for the students who are participating.”
“It’s not time for us to take a break … The next incident could go from someone yelling a slur at someone on campus, to someone stabbing them. Those things turn very violent very fast when there is an opportunity for that to happen,” she continues.
“Students on campus, especially Palestinian students, have had things yelled at them, have been threatened with being burned alive, have had their bags searched. And when the university doesn’t deal with these things strictly and immediately, it opens up the floor.”
While concerns for the safety of Kishawi’s fellow protestors are ever growing, it’s obvious the removal of the encampment and threats against protestors are raindrops compared to the ocean of problems that the Palestinian people face.
Kishawi mentions Canada’s plan to send $83.7 million worth of weapons to Israel through the United States, despite the Canadian government’s underhanded promise to end future Israeli arms shipments this past March.
Unfortunately, the Canadian government is not the only administration misappropriating funds.
Vancouver Island University has spent, by their own account, more than $870k on “encampment-related matters” since the beginning of May. An expenditure that the school seemingly holds its populace at fault for, citing that the cost will likely lead to further cuts to faculty, programs, and student services.
All this amid several years of noted financial struggles for the school, during which they have already hiked prices around campus stores, gradually raised tuition fees, slashed the funding of multiple programs and diplomas, shut down the High School at VIU, and even closed a beloved music program that had been offered at the university since 1969 just earlier this year.
A promise to not give up.
IMAGE VIA: Sara Kishawi
Despite everything, the pursuit of Palestinian liberation on the part of the protestors doesn’t end with the removal of VIU’s Palestinian Solidarity Encampment, nor with the legal threats levied against those involved.
Sara Kishawi turns her attention back to the Canadian government breaking promises and sending tens-of-millions worth of explosives to Israel.
“That is something we are going to focus on now,” Kishawi says.
BC’s Supreme Court has ordered the injunction to last for 150 days, after which the university will surely be reminded of the persistence of those who stand and fight for freedom and peace.
On the discoloured, flattened grass where the Palestinian Solidarity Encampment once stood is a promise painted in black and red: ‘We will return’.
Lee is a writer, poet, and fourth-year Creative Writing and Journalism student at VIU. When he’s not writing for The Nav, Lee can be found dissociating at his day job, daydreaming at home, getting lost in a good book, or counting the stars in the sky.
