There is a constant struggle for human rights in Palestine. Here I met people who not only chose to fight for themselves, but also for the animals.
Palestinian Animal League is an organization created in 2011 by two Palestinians who have chosen to fight for the rights to a life of freedom, without oppression and exploitation, for both humans and animals.
In an article on their website that discusses the fact that many Palestinian political prisoners went on hunger strike in protest of the rights that have been taken away from them in Israeli prisons, one of the organization's founders, Ahmad Safi, writes:
- The violence that has shaped our lives is what drives us to fight for weaker individuals exploited by stronger forces. It is difficult not to compare the experiences we share with them and in this world where recurring patterns of violence are played out by the strong against the weak, how can we distinguish between the animals and us?
When I think about it myself, my attempts at explanation often return to the same circle of action: one without thought of consequences. This applies as much to the occupation as to the animal industry. A constant pursuit of a better life for oneself, regardless of how it will affect others.
Here I constantly hear comments such as; "Human rights take precedence over animals" and "we do not have the luxury of worrying about animal welfare" and I see how this thinking once again continues to separate rights between the weak and the strong, back to the same circle, but with new participants. I see that the way to peace is by valuing every life equally. Whether you come from Israel or Palestine, or were born as a chicken or a horse.
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