The camp - inspired by those across the US - began last week
As it enters its second week, those living in the Gaza protest camp at the University of Manchester say 'every day we stay here is a win.' Students began erecting tents at Brunswick Park, on the university's Oxford Road campus, last Thursday.
Two occupants of the camp have now spoken out, and say there is an 'amazing' and 'determined' atmosphere in the camp although they claim there have been attempts to intimidate them and say there is a lingering fear of disciplinary action from the university. "Every single day a Palestinian gets to voice their opinion is a win. And every single day that another person becomes pro-Palestinian, not even that but pro-humanitarian, and starts to speak up for what is right, that is a win.
The camp has a food station, welfare tent, and prayer tent amongst other self-set-up facilities with numerous occupants each night acting as 'camp watch.' The protest saw students occupy the Simon building for three days as part of a campaign to 'demand the end of UoM ties to Israel, in particular its partnerships with BAE Systems, Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem'.
Describing life on the camp, he said: "It's been brilliant. Originally there was a select group of people that were involved with it. There was about 40 people who were dedicated to stay. Now we've seen our numbers pretty much triple. So there's about 60 tents up, most get filled at night and there's a sort of rotation of people. So I would say around 200 people are involved, whether staying, helping with food and whatnot.
"Senior management know this camp exists. They probably see it everyday on their walk to work. And we hope it's a point of shame for them that their students have come out en masse and they are ignoring them." Some Jewish students have previously spoken of how they felt 'intimidated' by the protest. One said: “I feel super intimidated, beyond intimidated. I don't feel safe here. I’ve taken off my Jewish symbol from my neck because I’m scared to walk around identifying as Jewish.”
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