Friends form "Latinos for Palestine" to provide space for community and gathering
CHICAGO (CBS) — As the war in Gaza continues, two friends have teamed up to create a space for people to gather and share their unique experiences as it relates to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Ricardo Gamboa, who is Mexican American, and Haneen Shriam, who is Mexican and Palestinian-American, created the group, "Latinos for Palestine," in January of 2024, about three months after the war in Gaza began.
"It's been a hard year, it's been a hard couple of months but having a run club really helps give people this idea that they're not alone, gives people this outlet to be together, to be around like-minded people," said Haneen Shriam.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's retaliatory mission for the October 7th Hamas attack has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, wounded nearly 97,000, and displaced 90% of the population, devasting the Palestinian territory and its civilians.
"I think one of the things we were motivated by when we met was this awareness of kind of the shared histories of struggle between Latino and Palestinian people and wanted to kind of do a lot of education around that to bring our communities together precisely in this moment where solidarity and support and mutual recognition is so needed," said Ricardo Gamboa.
Through "Latinos for Palestine", people impacted by the war can come together to connect and find a space to feel seen and heard.
The group holds various events like storytelling sessions and roundtable talks. Over the summer, they started a run club called "Las Sandías," which is Spanish for "The Watermelons." The run club has met every Tuesday since July 2, with the final run scheduled for Tuesday, October 8.
"What's important for me as an Arab Latina, it creates community, which is so lacking sometimes here in the states," said Shriam, "I think in community you can find comfort in the sense of knowing I'm with people that care, I'm with people that are fighting the same fight, I'm with people that have the same ideas."
Along with providing a space for their communities, the Las Sandías" run club sells t-shirts, Aguas Frescas, and Paletas fused with Palestinian and Latino flavors to raise money for Palestinian relief organizations like Gaza Sunbirds and The Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
Separately, "Latinos for Palestine" raised $5,000 for this year's Chicago Palestine Film Festival. Gamboa and Shriam are also working on a graphic novel to serve as an educational tool where people can learn about Palestine's history and the struggles of both Palestinian and Latino communities.