Palestinians stand up against poverty and help break the Guinness World Record!

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The activities in Palestine were kicked off by students on school campuses throughout the West Bank and Gaza raising banners and shouting slogans against poverty. The public and private school events were coordinated by the GCAP coalition in Palestine and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, whose coordinator Ilham Abdelqadir stressed on the importance of involving students in this day because “they are an important part of society that is greatly affected by poverty, whether directly or indirectly”

Nationwide rallies followed the school events throughout the West Bank , and were attended by a diverse crowed ranging from university students, to workers, and civil society members. The rally in Ramallah began at 3pm, where large banners where raised by people as they marched against poverty.

Following the demonstrations was a central artistic performance based in Ramallah, which included poverty requiem songs that were sung globally on this same day.

In Gaza, a conference entitled “Social protection is a right for every citizen” took place on this day, where more than two hundreds of politicians, economists, and civil society members joined to discuss poverty in Palestine, and the responsibilities of the international community, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel in helping to reduce the increasing level of poverty and unemployment in Palestine.

Throughout last week, meetings were conducted between delegations of the National Coalition for the GCAP-Palestine and different ministers of the Palestinian Authority. The meetings gave the coalition the opportunity to submit its demands to decision makers, and to pressure the leaders to help alter the declining living conditions of the Palestinian people. Three meetings were coordinated with the Minister of Social Affairs, the Minister of Youth and Sports, and representatives of the Minister of Labor.

The demands included the implementation of a national health care system, the improvement of health services and compulsory health insurance premiums for the majority of the population, free education for all and ensuring higher education for the poor, and the activation of a national committee to ensure the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

For more information contact: Dr Hamdi Al-Khawaya, GCAP-Palestine Co-ordinator
hamdi@dwrc.org   Tel:  00972 2295 2608 – ext 103