By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

On October 7, Embark Sustainability released a statement of solidarity for the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led convoy of activists from 47 countries aiming to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. The flotilla is the largest of its kind in history and seeks to “break Israel’s illegal siege.”

Embark is a non-profit organization that operates at SFU, advocating for food justice and climate equity. The Peak corresponded with the organization to learn more about their support for the flotilla.

Embark’s director of development, Serena Bains, wrote that the flotilla’s goals align with the organization, as Embark’s vision “is a just, equitable, and sustainable future for all.” They also stated that given the organization “operates within a colonial institution,” it has a responsibility to empower all Indigenous Peoples, including Palestinians, through non-colonial activism.

According to the BBC, the United Nations estimated in August that a quarter of Palestinians were facing famine, and one in five households in the territory were facing “an extreme shortage in their consumption of food.” Advocates argue that the situation in Gaza comes as a result of Israel systemically destroying the strip’s food networks. 

Effective October 10, a ceasefire agreement was agreed to provisionally by both Israel and Hamas. Though the ceasefire has allowed previously inaccessible aid to trickle into the territory slowly, there have been violations of the ceasefire.

Embark’s director of engagement, Marie Haddad, said, “The global flotilla’s mission embodies food justice in action. At Embark, we understand food justice as a collective effort to dismantle barriers to equitable food access while affirming communities’ rights to control their own food systems, and to access culturally relevant, affordable, and sustainable food.”

Haddad pointed out the fragility of the ceasefire as a reason why the flotilla’s work is essential. “While a ceasefire is critical, Israel has repeatedly violated several of these ceasefires, including several this month,” she said. “This makes the work of the flotilla, statements of solidarity, and collective actions like protest continue to be important.” These actions “accumulate pressure to enable those in power to take action to stop this genocide,” she continued. 

Bains condemned the university’s links to the Israeli state and called on it to divest from organizations that have contributed to the genocide. They alleged that the university was “complicit in the surveillance and the suppression of those who speak in favour of the liberation of Palestinians.” They continued, “Universities do not have a crisis of conscious, there is no number of Palestinians murdered during this genocide that will convince them to take action.”

Haddad also encouraged other student organizations at SFU to take a public stance on the genocide in Gaza and groups like the flotilla.

“Solidarity is not symbolic — it is an active refusal of oppression.”

 — Marie Haddad, director of engagement at Embark Sustainability