9 March 2004 For Immediate Release

Al-Awda San Diego Event Notice Teach-In: "Day of The Land"

"In memory of those who fell on Land Day. They died so that we can live, and their spirit lives on."*

Al-Awda San Diego, a newly formed chapter of The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, will hold its second public event on Sunday March 28, 2004 beginning at 2 pm at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Courtyard Building room 201, 2120 San Diego Ave., San Diego. The event entitled "The Day of the Land" will take the form of a teach-in and discussion, and will include presentations by Al-Awda San Diego members Drs. Manal Swairjo and Zahi Damuni. The event is co-sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild Chapter at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

The Day of The Land has been commemorated world-wide yearly since the killing on March 30, 1976 of six Palestinians in Galilee by Israeli troops during peaceful protests over the confiscation of Palestinian lands. Drs. Swairjo and Damuni will provide a historical background to the Day of the Land, and discuss the current situation in relation to the plight of Palestinians living both in exile and under occupation. They will also discuss the continuing Israeli policies of land confiscations, home demolitions and dispossession.

The presentations and discussion will be followed by a short documentary entitled "Collecting Stories from Exile: Chicago Palestinians Remember 1948" (AFSC, 1999). This documentary is based on a series of oral history interviews from Palestinian Americans who lived through the Nakba. The video highlights the importance of oral history and the difficulties faced by Palestinians telling their story in the United States. Unique to the video is black and white historical footage showing life in Palestine before and during 1948.

The teach-in is open to the public.

Admission is free.

Directions to Event: From I-5 take the Old Town exit. Go two blocks uphill on Old Town Ave. Turn right on San Diego Ave. The Courtyard Building is on your left just past Olinda's Restaurant.

Parking: either on the street or in the surface lot next to the building.

Post event meeting at area restaurant. All are welcome to attend.

From Sept. 2000 - Feb. 2004, more than 2860 Palestinians, including more than 530 children, have been killed by Israeli occupation troops and settlers. Close to 30,000 Palestinian civilians have been injured.

Al-Awda San Diego
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013-1352
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 1-360-933-3568
http://www.al-awdasandiego.org

*Text of memorial at the Palestinian city of Sakhnin to honor those who fell on the occasion of Land Day.