Juma era uma das presenças internacionais bastante esperadas no FSM e não pôde vir por ter sido solto pouco menos de 15 dias antes do início do evento. Ele foi preso arbitrariamente quando estava em sua casa em 16 de dezembro último e, segundo confirmou, somente foi libertado graças à mobilização da comunidade internacional. Diante desse exemplo de que a solidariedade global tem impacto efetivo, o coordenador do Stop the Wall fez um apelo aos participantes da roda de comunicação compartilhada: continuarem a pressionar o Governo de Israel mediante ações como a de boicotes a produtos que financiam a ocupação de territórios palestinos e fortalecer o trabalho coletivo para disseminar informações que não são difundidas pela mídia tradicional.
[en] On 24th January, one day before the official opening of the World Social Forum (WSF), during the 1st Round Table on 10 Years of Shared Media, the Palestinian Jamal Juma, coordinator of Stop the Wall, spoke long-distance with the meeting’s participants and emphasized that arrests by Israel, such as he recently faced, aim to block communication and stifle grassroots movements.
Juma was one of the most anticipated international presences at the WSF, but he could not come due to being released just less than 15 days before the start of the event. He was imprisoned without reason while in his house on 16th December and, as he confirmed, was only freed thanks to the mobilization of the international community. In light of this example of the effective impact of global solidarity, the coordinator of Stop the Wall made an appeal to the participants of the round table: continue to pressure the Israeli government through actions like boycotting products that finance the occupation of Palestinian territories, and strengthening the collective effort to disseminate information that is not circulated by the traditional media.
Translation: Jack White