Episode 10 - Aidan Khamis on the Indiana University Encampment and New Fronts Against Empire

On this episode Shuli talked to Aidan Khamis, a Palestinian student at Indiana University Bloomington, about the student encampment established on the campus in solidarity with Gaza (and still existent as of the recording of this episode). Aidan gives a rundown of the initial stages of setting the camp up, the waves of violent repression from the administration and police, as well as the positive experiences of worldbuilding, collective study, and solidarity they experienced. The conversation continues with a deep and wide-ranging discussion about the tactic of encampment, the parallel of police repression and the apartheid state in occupied Palestine, the left’s colonial reservations about resistance, the different fronts of decolonial struggle, and the possibilities of solidarity in the heart of empire. Aidan shares brilliant insights and makes really beautiful connections. This solidarity movement is now in a turning point as most encampments have been packed up or evicted and we move into summer, where life on campus slows down. There is much to learn from the experiences that students and faculty had together, and we don’t know yet how the seeds planted in these experiences will sprout in further forms of resistance to genocide, empire, capital, and the police state. Hopefully this conversation will help spark more fires!

CW: mention of violence and sexual assault

Aidan shared two forms of possible support: 

A GoFundMe for Aidan's close friends and family:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-family-and-i-evacuate-out-of-gaza

A friend’s epoetry site that he’s using to help evacuate his family:

https://mizna.org/product/a-gaza-of-siege-and-genocide/

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