‘We did not forget’: WRDSB students stand in solidarity with Gaza

“Every struggle, every story of liberation, resistance and resilience is all interconnected to Palestinian struggle.”

This is what motivates Janah, a Palestinian-Canadian high school student in the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), to keep speaking up about the genocide in Gaza.

Since November 2023, students like Janah have been at the heart of a growing student movement in Canada advocating for Palestinian liberation. Within the WRDSB, these students have organized student walkouts, keffiyeh days and even vigils.

“There’s so much anger and sadness, and you don’t really know where to place it,” Janah explains. “We want to honor those who have been killed. That’s the biggest part.”

But honoring the dead is just the beginning. As students continue to organize and speak out, they are also starting conversations with their peers and school administration.

In February, Janah was among student delegates who spoke at a WRDSB committee meeting about their experiences of anti-Palestinian racism in schools.

“When everything started happening, we could not get the administration to recognize our hurt and grief because they believed it was too political, too complicated, and too complex,” she says.

It was not until this school year that the administration at her school publicly recognized the grief she and many of her classmates have been carrying.

Janah believes this progress is a result of the continuous conversations and actions she and her peers have had.

“Through productive conversation, people learn how to communicate,” she says. “They [administration] understand which words to use, what vocabulary each student is looking for.”

Abood Abu-Daka is another Palestinian-Canadian student who has been advocating for better support from administration. He wants the district to ensure students like himself can openly discuss their identity and the situation in Gaza without fear of disciplinary action. Abood’s goal is to educate others, helping them understand the importance of standing with Palestine, regardless of their background.

“You don’t have to be Palestinian to support Palestine,” he says. “You just need to be human.”

Grade 12 student Bayann recognizes this responsibility. Though she is not Palestinian, she believes it is up to young people to take action.

“We are the future. If we don’t start speaking up now, we are never going to,” she says.

Their efforts are supported by Sporas Scattered, a Kitchener-Waterloo nonprofit established in 2022 to help local Palestinians reconnect with their heritage.

“We started because we recognized there was a need from the Palestinian diaspora, and they’re reconnecting with their culture, their traditions, and their identities,” says Suhaila Salah, Sporas’ operations officer.

Through their Student Ambassadors Program, Sporas empowers students like Janah to lead their own advocacy, helping them challenge anti-Palestinian racism and navigate systemic barriers they face in schools.

“It’s important that when these students are put in these situations, they feel empowered enough to challenge those situations and make a change,” Suhaila explains.

For Janah, and students like her, this is about more than just making noise. It is about remembering, honoring, and never letting the world forget about Palestine and its people.

“We’re still here for them. We did not forget.”