- 2 weeks ago
Arrived late (subway delays) and missed the opening speeches unfortunately, however got the rest of them.
A malfunction ("CAMERA ERROR" lockup) caused the first segment of the timelapse not to be recorded, which a battery pull resolved.
That aside, three kids were up to mischief and their parents weren't doing anything to stop them from messing with the bells, lights (had to stop them from trying to take it off) and squeeze horn. I muffled it so it didn't interfere with the final part of the speech I was recording.
Music composed for the timelapsed march segments is my own.
A malfunction ("CAMERA ERROR" lockup) caused the first segment of the timelapse not to be recorded, which a battery pull resolved.
That aside, three kids were up to mischief and their parents weren't doing anything to stop them from messing with the bells, lights (had to stop them from trying to take it off) and squeeze horn. I muffled it so it didn't interfere with the final part of the speech I was recording.
Music composed for the timelapsed march segments is my own.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00You may have heard that there's been a genocide being live-streamed and televised for the last two years in Gaza,
00:07carried out by the so-called State of Israel, with the support of the American government and our own,
00:14through the provision of arms.
00:16You may have also heard that there has been a ceasefire called,
00:20that there's supposedly a peace plan being put in place by the least peaceful person on earth, or one of them, Donald Trump.
00:28So, in case you're wondering why we're still on these streets, to cite the fact that there's a ceasefire,
00:34it's because, while the people of Gaza can now breathe and celebrate a bit, our work is not done.
00:41Because the world did not start on October 7th, and this genocide did not start on October 8th.
00:49It's been ongoing since the Nakba of 1948, and if you don't know what the Nakba is, you need to go look it up.
00:55N-A-K-B-A, when 650,000 or more Palestinians were forced out of their homes in order to allow for the creation of the so-called State of Israel.
01:06Ask yourself what you would have done if you were pushed off of your land, the land you're indigenous to,
01:13so that a foreign entity could come and establish itself.
01:17What would you have done?
01:18So, no, we're not going to stop hitting these streets just because there's a ceasefire.
01:22Because we know there's still an occupation.
01:25We know there's still a system of apartheid.
01:28And we know that their definition of peace is not our definition of justice.
01:33So we will keep coming out here, and we will keep calling for it from the river to the sea.
01:38Now, those marching with me, I'm going to do a chant with you.
01:41You have one line.
01:47Just so you know, do you guys want to keep marching?
01:50Maybe you should march anymore if that's the attitude.
01:54Do you want to keep marching?
01:55Just hands up if you want to keep marching.
01:59So, we're going to go into Flemington Park.
02:03So, just letting everybody know of any of the elderly people, it will be about another hour of marching, just so you know.
02:11We're going to march for about another hour.
02:14If you can't handle it, no problem.
02:17If you can't handle it, you can take a break.
02:19If you need to leave, no problem.
02:20Just wanted to give you a heads up.
02:22We're marching for another hour.
02:24Let the other community know we're here, and they're going to be coming back.
02:28All right, we need to pause for a second and regroup.
02:33So, those who are ready to march with us, alhamdulillah.
02:36I see a lot of people on the sidewalk.
02:38You may not have been here when we did the announcements.
02:40We need everybody behind the banner.
02:42We're not going to start marching again until we see everybody behind the banner.
02:47Join the march, please, behind the banner.
02:51Please listen to the marshals in the neon vests.
02:56We are united.
02:56One ummah.
02:59Let's show it.
03:02Please follow the instructions of the marshals.
03:05Stay on the road.
03:06Don't block the sidewalk for pedestrians.
03:09For those of you who are leaving, jazakallah khair for joining us.
03:12For those of you who are staying, jazakallah khair for continuing with us.
03:17I think it looks like, oh, we have water by the truck.
03:21Before we pull off again, if anybody needs a bottle of water, you can please come to the truck and get it, and then you can go back to behind the banner.
03:29Are we good?
03:31Are we ready to go again?
03:36I don't know if it's that I just can't hear you because you guys are too far away from me, or if it's that you guys are tired.
03:41But I can't hear you.
03:43Are we ready?
03:46That was better.
03:46Mashallah.
03:47All right, bismillah.
03:50I was waiting to take this moment as we passed by this church because we're not here to disrupt them.
04:02We're in there in service.
04:03So I'm going to feed you for a bit here.
04:05All these cars.
04:06If you're in a car, I can hear this.
04:09It's just going to be a couple minutes.
04:10I think you can spare that.
04:12You may be wondering why, after there's been a ceasefire called in Negeza,
04:16we are still out in these streets marching.
04:19It's because the genocide of the last two years in Negeza
04:23is not the only thing we've been protesting.
04:26We've been protesting 77 years of illegal occupation.
04:30We've been protesting the apartheid system in Israel.
04:36We've been protesting the illegal settlers stealing land in the West Bank,
04:42which is not the same as Negeza, in case you didn't know.
04:45So even if their plan is for peace in Negeza,
04:49which I don't know that it actually is.
04:51I have hope because I have hope.
04:53But if Donald Trump is in charge of that,
04:55I don't know what kind of peace plan he does.
04:57But while we do acknowledge that inshallah
05:01there is some mercy for the people during the ceasefire,
05:04we know that our work is not done.
05:06We know that we have to keep it in these streets
05:09and keep rattling and showing you that there are people here
05:13who don't stand for genocide.
05:15There are people here who always stand against the oppressor,
05:19with the oppressed.
05:21And we will not stop.
05:23We will keep it in these streets inshallah,
05:25and we encourage you to join us.
05:27For those of you who have joined from the apartment buildings
05:29or have joined from the community,
05:31I want to say thank you.
05:33May Omar reward you for your efforts.
05:36I want to tell you that it doesn't matter if this is your first round.
05:40It doesn't matter if you've never joined us before.
05:43What matters is what you do now and what you do moving forward.
05:47I'm going to share something personal with you.
05:49You may look at me and think that I've been doing this for a really long time.
05:54But I'll tell you right now that October 7th is what woke me up.
05:58I wasn't doing this before that.
06:00I hadn't attended a protest in many, many years.
06:03But what happened when they used October 7th to justify the slaughter of Palestinians,
06:10and we could no longer deny it because it was on our social media feed continuously.
06:15I knew that I could still stay quiet.
06:18I knew that I couldn't pretend.
06:20But I didn't know what was going on.
06:22I had to educate myself.
06:24And so what you see now is just the product of the last two years, not 20 years.
06:29So what that tells you is it doesn't matter when you start.
06:33It does not matter when you start.
06:36You can start today.
06:37You can start before.
06:38You can start next week.
06:39But everybody has a responsibility.
06:42When you see injustice in the world.
06:45When you see oppression.
06:46When you see genocide.
06:48Children being bombed, shot in the head.
06:52When you see them starving to death.
06:54When you see them decapitated.
06:56You cannot sit down.
06:58You cannot say that I haven't done anything yet so I will not do anything tomorrow.
07:02You need to stand up and join.
07:05And now that I'm in church I'm going to get you to chat with me again.
07:23Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
07:27So you guys have understood now.
07:29I hope by now you've understood why we're still on the streets.
07:32Is that correct?
07:33Is that correct?
07:35There is no celebration.
07:37Until?
07:38There is no celebration until?
07:40There is no celebration until?
07:42There is no celebration until?
07:43And I want to take a moment right now.
07:46For everybody listening.
07:47I want to educate you on a very important yet forgotten aspect of our lives.
07:54And that is our history.
07:56Our history speaks loud.
07:58Our history tells us that the Nasr, the victory is near, inshaAllah.
08:08I want to take us back to the times of the Mongols.
08:13Look at the times of the Mongols.
08:15When the world was in distress.
08:16When every breathing thing, every breathing being was being killed and terminated.
08:25Bloodshed was worldwide.
08:28Yet, what came of that?
08:32When no one thought they could stop the Mongols.
08:35When no one thought that the Mongols would be stopped.
08:38Alas, they were stopped.
08:41And from amongst the children of Genghis Khan.
08:47Amongst the children, two of his sons became Muslim.
08:50And from those descendants, most of us probably are here today.
08:53So this shows that no matter who the oppressor is.
08:59No matter how evil they are.
09:02Their time will come.
09:04But Allah will finish them all.
09:07InshaAllah.
09:08And from those people will come an ummah.
09:13That will be able to raise the flag of la ilaha illallah.
09:17Muhammadur Rasulullah.
09:19That will be able to raise the voices of the oppressed against the oppressors.
09:23That will be able to stand up for the oppressed wherever they are.
09:27I want to also show you and tell you about colonization in and of itself.
09:33Colonization seemed to be something that would never end.
09:38Every single country that had resources seemed like it was going to be colonized.
09:44But today, and I give you the example of Algeria.
09:48Today, after 132 years of resistance, Algeria is standing free before us.
09:59This is the direct result of having hope.
10:05Having trust and belief that the land that you were born in.
10:11The land that belonged to your forefathers is going to remain your land.
10:16InshaAllah.
10:19So history teaches us that no matter what, we will prevail.
10:26And the oppressors will be defeated.
10:29So, so when we are here right now in this moment of history.
10:33Because, believe it or not, we are in a change of history right now.
10:38The world is changing before our eyes.
10:41And most of us don't even see it.
10:43We're too busy in this rat race.
10:45We're too busy trying to survive.
10:49That we don't realize the bigger picture.
10:51That we don't realize that history is being made right now.
10:57The resistance is not out there sacrificing themselves for us to be able to live freely here in the world.
11:07No.
11:08They are sacrificing themselves so they can get returned to their own land.
11:12So their people can come back to fall asleep as a whole from the river to the sea.
11:18InshaAllah.
11:19So I want to remind each and every one of you.
11:23Don't stop your advocacy.
11:25Continue to do what you're doing.
11:28Whether, and the comment said before, whether you started two years ago, 20 years ago.
11:34Or you'll start today, or tomorrow, or in a week.
11:39Do what you can do as a minimum.
11:42And grow.
11:44This movement is not just here in Thorncliffe Park.
11:47This movement is worldwide.
11:49There is only one flag that flies across every single country in the world.
11:54And you're holding it right now.
11:57You're holding it right now.
12:00Hold it with pride.
12:02Hold it with the belief that we will all, inshaAllah, return side by side with our fellow indigenous Palestinians.
12:12InshaAllah.
12:13For those of you in your buildings who can hear my voice, who can see these beautiful flames of black, red, white, and green flying on the street beneath you.
12:21I am calling on you now to put on your shoes, go down your elevator, come down to the street and join us.
12:30Because you don't want one day on the Day of Judgment to be us.
12:31Because you don't want one day on the Day of Judgment to be us.
12:32What did you do when the people were in the streets calling for justice?
12:33Calling for the end of the end of Judgment and injustice,
12:56calling for the end of genocide, occupation on apartheid,
13:01calling for the oppressor to be stopped,
13:04and calling for the help to be oppressed.
13:07You do not want to be asked what you are doing,
13:10and you have to act for that you sat upstairs comfortably on your sofa
13:15because you couldn't come downstairs
13:17and take a few minutes out of your day to join us.
13:20I call upon you, please come and join us.
13:24So many along our march have dropped what they are doing
13:28and they are standing with us now.
13:30They are marching in the street because they know something in their hearts
13:34was awoken, something in their hearts told them,
13:37I shouldn't be sitting comfortably right now,
13:40not when my brothers and sisters are being slaughtered,
13:43not when they are not free, when they are oppressed,
13:46when they are occupied.
13:48I should not be sitting comfortably.
13:50I should come down here, and you should come down here,
13:53and share it with us.
13:55I'm going to speak to the people, not to the political activists,
14:13not to the people who are holding Palestinian flags,
14:17but to the people who recently came out,
14:20to the people who saw us from their balconies,
14:22to the cops, to all the people who may not know exactly why we are here
14:26and what we are about.
14:28If I had to bet, I would bet that 100% of the police officers who are present here today
14:36know about the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe in the 1940s.
14:41Do all of you cops know about that? I think you do.
14:44But how many of those same cops know about Plan Dalet,
14:48when Zionist paramilitary forces killed and forcibly expelled from their homes,
14:54Palestinians, to facilitate the formal declaration of independence by Israel in May 1948,
15:01and started a Holocaust which is continuing up till today in the 21st century?
15:07If I had to bet, I would bet that 100% of the police officers who are present here today know who Anne Frank is.
15:17But how many of those same police officers have ever heard of Hind Rajab?
15:22How many people here know who is Hind Rajab?
15:25The 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in her car, along with her family members,
15:32along with the paramedics that came to save her when she called the Palestinian Red Crescent,
15:37to say that they were surrounded by the Israeli occupation.
15:41355 bullets were fired into that vehicle by the Israeli occupation.
15:55Now how many people here know who supplies Israel with their bullets?
16:00It is the government of Canada.
16:02How many people here know who supported Israel in their foreign illegal military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,
16:14which had started in 1967?
16:17Who supported them diplomatically and ideologically?
16:21Who supported them with our votes in the United Nations?
16:24The government of Canada.
16:27So when we take these streets to all the cops and to all the people that decided to come out to see what this is all about,
16:38do not for one moment think that this does not affect you, that this does not relate to Canada,
16:42that this is a problem 10,000 kilometers away that we shouldn't be considered about
16:47because we have so many domestic problems here at home.
16:50This is a fairy tale. This is a fantasy.
16:53This is as much of a Canadian problem as it is a Palestinian problem
16:57because historically our government has been complicit in this genocide and this Holocaust
17:02that is taking place in the 21st century.
17:06So to everybody who's asking why we're out here, why are we taking these streets?
17:12Like my sister has said before, this is something that we've been doing for the last two years,
17:17but this genocide has not been taking place for two years.
17:20It has not been taking place for 10 years.
17:23It has been taking place for decades with the complicity of our elected Canadian government.
17:28So to everybody that's out here today, this is exactly why we're here.
17:33We're here to stand against this in accordance with our Canadian values
17:37and our long-standing Canadian tradition of working within multilateral institutions to bring peace around the world.
17:43In the early 1990s, it was a Canadian, Romeo Daleb, a former Canadian senator and retired lieutenant general in the Canadian Armed Forces
17:54that led the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Rwanda.
17:58There are many more examples of this.
18:01And today the Canadian government has decided to be complicit with a government that is committing a genocide in occupied Palestinian territory.
18:10And whatever we allow our government to do to other people, they will do it to you tomorrow.
18:15So do not for one moment think that this is not a problem that affects you.
18:19This is a problem that affects every single one of us.
18:22This is a problem that affects every human being with a sound moral conscience.
18:26You do not have to be a Palestinian, you do not have to be an Arab, you do not have to be a Muslim to be concerned about this.
18:32You can simply be a Canadian that is worried about our Canadian tradition and our Canadian values being undermined by our government's complicity
18:41in these war crimes and these crimes against humanity.
18:44How many of the police officers here today know that if the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Milikowski, was to step foot on Canadian soil,
18:52the RCMP would be required to arrest and detain him based on an arrest warrant that has been issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague,
19:00of which Canada is not only a founding member, but Canada is also a signatory to the Rome Statue.
19:06These war criminals are out there today and we're standing on the street against them.
19:11And we're supposed to be criminalized for that and we're supposed to be criminally prosecuted for that.
19:16We see RCMP officers reporting us for biometric databases and they report us and they send this video recording to their lawyers
19:24so that afterwards they can see if any of us can be criminally prosecuted for what we said.
19:29Do you think this is a good way to allocate police resources?
19:33Police resources that are scarce. Police resources that are limited.
19:37Instead, let's put our resources towards fighting against these war criminals, enforcing the Canadian War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act,
19:46and prosecuting Canadians that have decided to fight overseas along with the Israel so-called defense forces.
19:52So we're taking these streets today to remind ourselves and to remind everybody in this neighborhood,
19:58and in every neighborhood that we go to, that we're going to continue to fight for what is right,
20:03and we're going to continue to fight until we see a real, true, lasting peace and justice for Palestinians.
20:10There can be no peace without justice.
20:13So we're fighting for justice not only for Palestinians, but we're fighting for the survival of the human race itself.
20:19Because if we're going to tolerate these kinds of atrocities overseas, then they're going to come back home to hurt us over here as well.
20:36If you've been here since the beginning of the rally, you've probably heard me say that dua three times already,
20:41to ask Allah to give me prayer speech.
20:44When my brother just talked about the fact that they look at us, they try to target us based on the things that we say,
20:49to figure out if there's something they can get us on.
20:51And so I know I put my trust in Allah that I speak words of truth, and I ask him to ensure that I'm always speaking words of truth,
20:57and I ask him to give me the strength and the courage to say what needs to be said.
21:01This is one of the things that we all need to be doing.
21:03You might not be here at the front of the protest on the mic, that's fine.
21:07Everybody has a place in their life where they can use their voice to speak out against oppression.
21:13You children in your classrooms, you can do that.
21:16Everyone here in your workplaces, when you're out on the street and you hear people telling lies,
21:20and spewing racist comments about Palestine, about Muslims, we have to stand up.
21:26Right now, I don't know about you, but I feel like the Ummah is very weak.
21:30If you've been hearing about the Islamophobic attacks that have been happening,
21:34the man at the hotel in Markham who was beaten with what are those called? Brass knuckles.
21:41If you've seen the images of him, we cannot be weak.
21:45None of us, the men, the women, we need to be strong.
21:49We need to be proud of our Islam.
21:51We need to be proud that we stand on the side of justice, that we stand with the oppressed.
21:56This is one of the things we need to ensure.
21:58We need to be making dua.
21:59We need to be boycotting every brand and product that supports Israel in any way, shape or form.
22:05One of the other things we can be doing is donating to the cause.
22:08I have a brother here, MashaAllah, a very tall brother.
22:11You can see him in his neon vest.
22:12He's from a charity called Hands for Charity that operates outside of Quebec.
22:17They have been operating on the ground in Gaza.
22:20Our colleagues, our comrades from LP48 have had Hands for Charity at their rallies for a long time now.
22:28During that time, they have raised over $100,000 from the people at these rallies.
22:34They have built a bakery in Gaza.
22:36This is one of the things we need to keep doing.
22:38So I'm going to point them out to you.
22:39If you can, please donate to Hands for Charity.
22:42Any amount that you can donate is meaningful.
22:45It's impactful.
22:46Make a dua to Allah to put barakah into everything that you do.
22:50To put into your money, to put into your donations so that its reach is far greater than we can even imagine.
22:56Make a dua to Allah to keep you firm.
22:58Standing upon his deen, standing upon the truth, standing up for the oppressed against the oppressor.
23:03We are going to head back now, march back to our starting point.
23:06We are going to pray Afr Salah, Inshallah, in Jama'at.
23:09Because first and foremost, we praise Allah and we fulfill our obligations to Him.
23:14Until then, we're going to keep chanting.
23:16We're going to keep the spirit up.
23:17We're going to keep the energy alive, right?
23:19Because you guys are not tired, right?
23:23Yeah, you're tired or no, you're not tired?
23:26No.
23:27You guys want to chant, right?
23:29As loud as you can, right?
23:31As loud as you can, right?
23:33Followed by the drummers.
23:36Followed by our amazing banner holders.
23:39Everyone else who's holding a flag who's joined us.
23:42Please make sure that you are behind the banner.
23:45We're going to march like one unit, like one strong Ummah, Inshallah, back to our spot.
23:52Free!
24:09I'm going to address all of the people in their cars right now.
24:20Probably upset with us.
24:22Probably wondering why we're still in the street.
24:25You may have heard that there's been a ceasefire deal.
24:29Or maybe you guys support us.
24:34I hear, I hear the cries, the people in their cards who want a free Palestine!
24:49Free, free Palestine!
24:54People who maybe are not so happy that we're here right now.
24:59Maybe you've heard that there's a genocide that's been ongoing for two years.
25:04Really 77 years if you count the occupation which we do.
25:08And that maybe you've heard that there's been a ceasefire.
25:11A so-called peace plan being led by none other than Donald Trump.
25:17A man who doesn't even know the meaning of the word peace.
25:21But you might think because there's a ceasefire we shouldn't be in these streets anymore.
25:26And I'm going to address the people in their cards who support us as well.
25:29Now is the time more than ever that we need to be in these streets.
25:35Now is the time more than ever that we need to show them that their definition of peace is not our definition of peace.
25:45That we will not accept anything except total liberation for Palestine from the river to the sea.
25:54And until and unless we see that we will not leave these streets.
26:00Get used to seeing us here.
26:02Get used to being blocked.
26:04Get used to being blocked.
26:05Because we will not stand idly by while children are slaughtered.
26:10We will not stand idly by while our people are occupied.
26:15While they live under an apartheid system.
26:18While they live in a reality where so-called Israelis can come and kick them out of their homes.
26:25Steal their land can contaminate and poison their wells.
26:30In case you didn't know that's what Israelis do.
26:33That's the mentality of the people over there.
26:36They supported this genocide.
26:38They supported this genocide.
26:41They supported the occupation.
26:43They stole the land in 1948.
26:46And they have continued to steal it.
26:48If you don't know what the Nakba is.
26:50N-A-K-B-A.
26:52You need to google it.
26:54Look up Nakba.
26:55And learn how over 650,000 Palestinians were kicked out of their homes.
27:02Forced to flee.
27:03Some because of massacres in their villages.
27:06That is what we stand up against.
27:08That is what we oppose.
27:10So no matter what peace plan Trump and his cronies have in place.
27:15We will still be out here calling for the liberation of policy.
27:20Of policy.
27:21From the river to the sea.
27:25Ok hold on.
27:26One second.
27:27There is a fire truck coming.
27:29There is maybe a fire in Thorncliffe.
27:31So when the fire truck comes.
27:32They have the first right of way.
27:34Get out of their way.
27:35They want to get here as soon as possible.
27:36You understand?
27:37They have the first right of way.
27:38We're doing what we're doing.
27:39When they come.
27:40Everyone move to the side.
27:41Give them their first right of way.
27:43Ok?
27:44May Allah keep everyone safe.
27:46If there is a fire.
27:47May Allah keep everyone safe.
27:51I will stop if I see the fire truck turning on the street.
27:54Inshallah we will stop.
27:55We will make way for it.
27:57I will stop if I can cut.
27:58We'll stop if I can��
28:09Everyone for coming out.
28:34For those of you who joined us right at the beginning,
28:37some of you even before 2 p.m.
28:40For those of you who heard us from your cars from the streets
28:43and came to join,
28:44for those of you who heard us in your apartment buildings
28:46and came to join,
28:47may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward all of you
28:50and may He make all of us among them Ummah,
28:54the people of the Ummah,
28:56who are of the strong, not the weak,
28:58the ones who will stand up when it's difficult to stand up,
29:02the ones who will speak out and stand up for the oppressed
29:05even if it harms us
29:07because we know what Allah expects from us.
29:10We know what the Ummah deserves from us
29:13as we live in this country in relative peace.
29:16We have to stand up and be strong
29:18and I pray that Allah makes us among those who are strong.
29:21A journalist named Saleh al-Jafrawi was killed while reporting in southern Ghazza.
29:28Let's read the Fatiha on his soul, please.
29:39I mean, may Allah forgive our shortcomings, may Allah save us from the test, the trials and tribulations that they have faced.
29:50I mean, if we face such trials and tribulations, we would probably have already lost our iman.
29:56So I just wanted to say something, right?
30:01Who here is born in Tharkliff Park?
30:07Oh no, hands up if you're born in Tharkliff Park.
30:10Yay!
30:12Hands up if you move to Tharkliff Park.
30:15There we go.
30:16That was the right question to ask.
30:19Lots of turnover in this neighborhood, right?
30:22Yes!
30:22Who goes to Frasier Mustard?
30:26Hands up.
30:27Which of the kids go to Frasier Mustard?
30:30Where?
30:31Anyone here?
30:32What school do you go to?
30:33Valley Park?
30:34There you go.
30:35Who's in Valley Park?
30:36Hands up.
30:38Who's in Mark Garneau?
30:40I am a product of all those schools.
30:44That's why I'm just talking a little bit to the children and the youth who are in these schools in this neighborhood.
30:50I am a product of this community.
30:52I moved in here.
30:53I was born in 1981 and I lived in 75 Tharkliff Park Drive when there was all Greek people in this area.
31:00All Greek people.
31:02We were the minority.
31:06Some of you won't understand what I'm talking about.
31:07This is for some of you.
31:09Growing up in this area, we were limited to 75, 79, 65, and 71.
31:17Leeside Towers, untouchable.
31:20We couldn't go in that area.
31:21We couldn't go to any of these buildings.
31:24December 25th, you see all these apartments and balconies full of Christmas lights because that's what the neighborhood was.
31:30And now it's changed.
31:31Things change, right?
31:33So, coming back to home, and you know I love coming back to this area, but specifically, the children that go to these schools, what's going to happen in 20, 25 years if you still might be in this neighborhood?
31:45I graduated from Mark Garneau in 1999.
31:48Who's a Mark Garneau?
31:49Any hands?
31:49It's a Mark Garneau.
31:50Any hands?
31:51Mark Garneau?
31:53There you go.
31:55What are you doing at Mark Garneau now that will help the future people that come to Garneau?
32:00Think about that.
32:01What are you doing at Valley Park or Fraser Mustard or Thorne Cliff Park?
32:05What are you doing there if you live in the Syria?
32:07What are you doing there here now to better the living conditions and the environment for the people who come here 25 years from now?
32:15Because I graduated in 1999, it's 2025, 25 years ago.
32:20When I was in high school, there was no NSA, Muslim Students Association.
32:26There was no Jum'ah as they prayed there.
32:28But we helped advocate for those things for our people to come after us.
32:34And that's what you guys are receiving, those benefits.
32:37So the message is always to the children, pay it forward.
32:39Do something in your community, do something in your neighborhood that will help the future generation.
32:48And isn't that what Gaza told us?
32:51Isn't that what the people of Gaza taught us?
32:53They have taught us, no matter what happens, they utilize the surroundings around them.
32:59Whatever they are, whatever their surroundings around them, if they're in the rubble, they will make the most of it.
33:05No matter if they have roads that are paved, or they're on ground that's full of dirt, and they're walking over dead bodies, they will make most of their environment.
33:16So don't complain.
33:18Don't complain, whatever your situation is, my children.
33:22If you're in school, times are tough, and you're being picked on.
33:26Don't worry about it.
33:27We have to persevere.
33:28The people of Gaza have told us, whatever your situation is, if you're a child that's growing up with one parent, if you don't have your mom and dad together, if you've lost a loved one, if your parents are divorced, maybe a parent has died.
33:46Lots of different family situations.
33:48The people of Gaza have told us, the people of Gaza have told us how to make the best of our situation, of our environment.
33:57And I hope the children, those of you in college, those of you, some of us that grew up with, my uncles, yeah.
34:05Some of the people I grew up with that took care of me when I was young, and now you are elder.
34:09And now I see the younger kids.
34:10Is this a cycle?
34:12Take, make the best of your situation.
34:14I know I'm not talking about Gaza specifically, but this is for you children and parents.
34:18Don't complain.
34:20Life is hard.
34:21But the people of Gaza have shown us, again, how to make the best of our situation.
34:27That's why I just wanted to impress upon you, God willing.
34:30Who else is, uh...
34:33Who wants to say something?
34:36We have a little girl here that would like to say, or like to chant.
34:42All right, let's see.
34:43Gotta say it loud.
34:44Ready?
34:45If you're Palestinian, make some noise.
34:50Okay, so she's saying, if you are Palestinian, make some noise.
34:56Noise!
34:59Okay, wait for this one.
35:02If you're not Palestinian and you support Palestinian, make some noise.
35:09All right, if you'd like to stay updated, there are a few Instagram pages that you can follow.
35:25One of them is Action4Palestine.
35:28That's on Instagram.
35:30Another one is GTA, the number four, for GTA4Palestine on Instagram.
35:37There's another one, Durham Region 4Palestine.
35:42And we are going to pray, I believe, where the bus station is, over there.
35:49If you'd like to pray, you're more than welcome to.
35:52And if you have any flags, please put them all over here.
35:56We'll be collecting them.
35:57Just like Allah.
35:58There's also no care, everyone, for coming out.
36:20Please make sure you come out whenever you hear of a protest, whenever you hear of a rally,
36:25whenever you hear of a product to boycott, make sure you boycott it.
36:28Whenever you're given the opportunity to give back to Gaza, to Sudan, to the Congo,
36:33to anywhere where people are oppressed, make sure that you do it.
36:36Jazakalaka.
36:37Jazakalaka.
36:44As for Charity is still here, for anybody who didn't have a chance to donate,
36:48they are on the ground in the Gaza, helping our brothers and sisters over there.
36:53Donations from rallies like this one have already amounted to over $100,000 in donations.
36:59Every dollar, every penny counts.
37:01Please give what you can.
37:02Ask Allah to put baraka into it, to extend its reach, and to make it reach the people who need it.
37:07We are going to call the Adhan, and we are going to pray on the grass towards the street.
37:15On the parking lot towards the street.
37:17InshaAllah.
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