By Omar Karmi: On a late-morning sunny May day in central London, students at the Gaza encampment in the grounds of the School of Oriental and African Studies were slowly stirring.
Occupying a small green space between university buildings across from the main entrance, the SOAS encampment comprises some 20 tents.
It’s small but remarkably organized.
At the front is an information desk with leaflets for passersby on the Palestinian struggle, on students’ demands, a schedule of upcoming speakers at the encampment, and so on.
Inside the camp, there are workshops for the students themselves on anything from Palestinian history and anti-colonial studies to self-defense and yoga, as well as specific areas set aside for studying and cooking.
The students there are determined to be in it for the long haul.
“This [encampment] is just one tactic,” said Brandao, a liberal arts undergraduate, who, like everyone else interviewed for this article, only gave a first name.
He was keen to emphasize that while the students protesting had specific demands from the SOAS administration to “stop profiting from the oppression of the Palestinian people,” the first priority was to keep the focus on what is happening in Gaza specifically and Palestine more generally.
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