This weekend marked Day 5 and Day 6 of the student-led Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Sydney.
Saturday’s agenda included a banner paint for the encampment’s contingent to the weekly Hyde Park Palestine solidarity rally, a teach-in on a people’s history of the Vietnam War led by Lily Campbell, and a film screening of the Battle of Algiers (1966).
Events including the Anzac Day Ceremony on Thursday and evacuation of multiple buildings around the campus on Friday appeared to leave the encampment untouched. Protestors instead enjoyed a sausage sizzle on Friday night, and told Honi Soit they were enjoying a “quiet moment” the next morning.
While the size of the encampment has remained steady, it has amassed a growing number of donations from members of the local community and other students who are unable to stay the night. These donations mostly include food, water, blankets and sanitary products. When Honi spoke to protestors about what they would need most, they responded with toiletries, hats, sunscreen and rain-proofing materials. Others also noted that the Quadrangle Gates have remained locked since Thursday’s Anzac Day Ceremony, making it difficult for campers to access bathrooms and other amenities.
Anyone hoping to donate to the encampment should contact the University’s SRC or Students For Palestine on Instagram, Facebook or X for further information.
New artworks are on display around the site, including a map dotted with all the other Gaza solidarity encampments occurring across the United States and parts of Europe. Solidarity posters from the University’s Queer collectives and Uyghur communities are another welcome addition.
Those who posted in support of the encampment or showed up themselves include Julia Jacklin, Zoe Terakes, Walla Abu-Eid, Michelle Berkon from Jews Against the Occupation ‘48, Manoosh Pizzeria, Parliament on King and Food not Bombs.
On Sunday, student protestors from the encampment led a contingent to Palestine Action Group’s solidarity rally at 1pm in Hyde Park. Students carried posters and banners in support of Palestinian freedom and an end to the genocide, in addition to messages asking for onlookers to “join the camp @ USyd.” The encampment was mentioned across different speeches, whether that be the commendation of students worldwide or the reactions of Palestinians in Rafah who wrote messages of support while displaced in their tents.
Yasmine from Students For Palestine spoke at the protest, mentioning the growth of the student movement beyond the US to Cairo, Paris, Tokyo, and London. Yasmine also spoke about the “outpour” of community support, including videos sent from The New School in New York and Columbia University Alumni for Palestine encouraging USyd students with the slogan, “one day longer, one day stronger.” She implored protestors to visit the encampment, join the students and spread the word. During the march afterwards, organisers of the encampment were very vocal, initiating chants like “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and “strike, occupy, shut it down, free Palestine now”. Upon returning to Hyde Park, they also mentioned a big rally planned for Tuesday at 1pm on campus, calling upon attendees to show up and support.
The number of tents had grown significantly by Sunday evening, sprawling across both sides of the Quadrangle lawns. The path to the Quadrangle and the concrete around Fisher Library remains covered in chalk drawings and protest slogans from campers. A solidarity encampment is also reportedly starting tomorrow at the University of Queensland.
Socialist Alternative (SAlt), Solidarity, Grassroots and the University’s Political Economy Society have all maintained their contingents over the weekend, with commitments to keep camping over the coming week throughout graduation ceremonies.
Honi Soit will continue its coverage of upcoming rallies, speak-outs and teach-ins at the encampment as they occur. Follow our Instagram and X profile for updates as they occur.
