Outpouring of solidarity after brutal murder of Palestinian woman

January 23, 2019
Issue 
At the prayer evening for Aya Maasarwe. Photo: Khalid Ghannam.

Hundreds of people gathered in a silent vigil on the steps of Victoria's Parliament House on January 18 in response to the brutal murder of Aya Maasarwe, a 21-year-old Palestinian international student who was killed on January 16.

Others expressed their solidarity at large women’s marches held around the country on January 20.

More people joined her grief-stricken father, Saeed Maasarwe, at a prayer evening at a mosque in Dandenong on January 21.

"This is the message we want to send, to make the world more peace and more safety, and more beautiful, and more smile; and more forgive each other,” he said.

"This is not me, this is Aya. I talk in my voice, but this is Aya in mine.”

Izzat Salah Abdelhadi, the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, attended the prayer evening and extended his condolences.

Most of the mainstream media in Australia and around the world refused to identify Aya Maasarwe as Palestinian, despite requests from her family. The Zionist media in Israel even complained about a Palestinian flag being displayed at the prayer evening.

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