Written By Ibrahim Ahmed
My name is Ibrahim, and I am 10 years old. One of my best friends is a Palestinian-American, and he has lost over 200 of his family members in Gaza since October 2023. Personally, I find it hard to see people of Gaza go through a genocide while kids like me continue enjoy to their lives with their friends and family. I have seen my teacher and classmates often go to Houston City Hall to speak about Palestine. This inspired me to speak at Sugar Land City Hall myself to ask them to vote for a ceasefire resolution.
I wanted to draw a comparison between Houston and Gaza. Using a map, I showed the difference in size and population of the two cities. Houston is 661 square miles in size and 3500 people per square mile live here. Gaza is 141 square miles and 14000 people per square mile live there. I shared with the City Hall that 1.5 million people have been displaced to Rafah, and they are forced to live in a 25 square mile area. I wanted to bring their attention to the living conditions in Rafah. The people of Rafah are being bombed, starved, and are living in fear all day and all night. I shared all this with them in the hopes that they can empathize with the situation and understand how thousands of Muslim Americans feel about it. In the end, I asked them to vote for a resolution to call for a permanent ceasefire.
Initially, I felt nervous about speaking at Sugar Land City Hall, but when I concluded my speech, I felt proud of myself for speaking up for my brothers and sisters in Gaza. My speech also inspired my friends to raise their voices for the people of Palestine. Lately, Sugar Land City Hall does not allow anyone to make any comments related to Palestine, but me and my parents continue to go there to rally outside the building. We cannot forget the people of Gaza. I will continue to raise my voice for them. “Free Palestine” until there is a free Palestine!