On Oct. 4 and 5, two separate pro-Palestine protests took place in Downtown Albuquerque as the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel neared. University of New Mexico students, faculty and alums were among those protesting.
Friday, Oct. 4
Pro-Palestine protesters gathered and marched from Civic Plaza to Robinson Park, where members of the group formed a blockade at the roundabout on Eighth Street and Central Avenue. The blockade lasted about five hours.
Protesters picketed and chanted, chalked and spray painted the pavement with pro-Palestine messages, and blocked off each exit of the roundabout with wood pallets. Other participants directed traffic on an alternate route.
UNM students and alums, including some members of the newly chartered UNM student organization UNM Students for Justice in Palestine, attended the protest in solidarity and called for UNM’s divestment from Israeli companies.
Over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks and more have been displaced since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Al Jazeera.
Rakin Faruk, a UNM alum who was barred from campus following an on-campus protest, spoke during the rally at Civic Plaza.
“It is now 2024, and Israel is bombing not only Palestine, but Lebanon, Yemen and Syria,” Faruk said.
Mark Campell is a UNM graduate student involved with UNM Students for Justice in Palestine.
“The organization formed out of the ashes of the encampment,” Campbell said. “We're not going anywhere until we get divestment.”
The Albuquerque Police Department arrived at the blockcaded roundabout at 6:30 p.m. and blocked off Central Avenue with multiple vehicles on two sides of the roundabout.
At about 7:10 p.m., an altercation occurred with a counter-protester who was driving a vehicle decorated with “Trump Vance” campaign signs and flags. He exited his vehicle and approached the group, mocking chants and verbally threatening protesters.
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He threatened to pepper spray the group before eventually being escorted away by members of the protest.
About 30 minutes later, an APD officer arrived and declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly.
“You need to disperse or it could lead to your arrest,” the officer said from the vehicle's megaphone.
Just before 9 p.m., protesters lowered the United States flag mounted on a pole at the roundabout and replaced it with the flag of Palestine. Ten minutes later, at least five APD officers showed up to take down the Palestinian flag.
Tara Smith, a protester at the roundabout, said she will not stop showing up to similar actions until the bombs in Palestine stop.
“Any of the fears that I have when I show up to something like this just get erased out of my mind when I think about why I'm here,” Smith said. "It is nothing compared to what so many people are facing because of this war happening."
The protest concluded at about 9:30 p.m., when protesters collectively dispersed from the roundabout and marched down Central Avenue. The march coincided with the ABQ Artwalk, where some onlookers chanted alongside the group.
Saturday, Oct. 5
The next day, hundreds of people rallied and marched from Robinson Park to the office of Sen. Ben Ray Luján at Sixth Street and Marquette Avenue. The event was part of an international day of action, according to the Albuquerque Party of Socialism and Liberation.
The protest was primarily organized by the ABQ PSL. Activist organizations, UNM students and faculty, and community members attended the protest, along with children and their families.
Five-year-old Amara Cabre De La Cruz, from Santa Fe, spoke during the rally at Robinson Park.
“Palestine children need help … we need to get genocide to quit it … Palestine is never going to leave us,” she said to the crowd.
Palestinian activist Fatima Awad told the Daily Lobo that she worries about her family living in the West Bank.
“One bomb drops, that’s my entire bloodline gone,” Awad said. “My cousins are sending me videos, and they're scared deathly because they hear bombs. I wake up in fear every day that I might be given the news that my family is dead and there's no way to take them out.”
Awad described a recent video shared by her family members.
“Seeing my little cousin sitting in the corner crying with his ears covered — this is their childhood,” she said.
Similar protests took place around the world ahead of Oct. 7. Thousands marched in London, Paris, Cape Town and New York City, according to Reuters.
“My passion comes from the people of Palestine — the people who are suffering, the people who don't get the chance to speak up, the people who don't get the chance to come to protest and share the truth,” Awad said.
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
