“Portugal must be on the right side of history,” says the manifesto of the humanitarian movement Azores for Gaza, published on July 19. With a view to the sovereignty and freedom of Palestine, Marisa Cota, a recent biology graduate, created the project because she felt that “she had to keep pressuring the government to act,” explains the founder of the initiative. “The creation of this movement in the Azores is symbolic and strategic, because we want to show that discontent has already reached the islands,” she adds. On a personal level, Marisa Cota says that her greatest motivation for founding the project is her “friends living in Gaza and the West Bank,” people she promised she would “never leave alone in their struggle for freedom.”
“Our main goal is to amplify the denunciation and increase pressure on the Portuguese government to act in the face of the ongoing genocide,” explains Marisa Cota. Also on the list of demands, the creator of the project emphasizes transparency regarding the operations taking place at the Lajes Air Base and requests that “everything that happens there be in accordance with international law.” For the objectives of Azores for Gaza to be achieved, Marisa Cota states that “Portugal must stop being submissive to the United States and complicit in Israel’s actions.” Since its creation on July 18, the humanitarian project has been speaking out against genocide in the Middle East “through demonstrations, social media outreach, distribution of flyers, and contact with official entities,” from which it has received no response to date.

Although insularity is a constraint on the project’s actions, the recent graduate assures that the initiative has collaborated with various groups at the regional, national, and international levels: “Free Palestine/Terceira Island, Cravos Vermelhos Sempre, Occupy for Gaza Lisbon, and, in the future, Global Gaza Portugal and Thousand Madleen to Gaza.”On the day that the Lajes Air Base opened its doors to the public (August 3), the Azores for Gaza movement held its first demonstration outside the military facility. Armed with posters, flags, and flyers, “about a dozen participants” were present from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Our presence was firm, calm, and determined, and we believe we conveyed an image of courage and resistance,” said Marisa Cota.
With an eye on the future, the initiative has in mind new demonstrations and fundraisers “to support families in Gaza and community kitchens that urgently need help,” explains the founder. “We want solidarity to translate into concrete action,” concludes Marisa Cota.

In Diário Insular. José Lourenço-director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.