As a Palestinian living in the Rio Grande Valley, Mariam El-Haj has family and friends living in Gaza.

El-Haj says she doesn’t know if they’re dead or alive because she hasn’t been able to contact them.

“The people in Gaza are currently without electricity, they have been since Oct. 13,” El-Haj said. “They have not had clean water since then.” 

El-Haj says this is nothing new to her family.

“This has been going on for over 75 years since the great Nakba,” El-Haj said, referring to the 1948 “catastrophe” the Associated Press says caused a mass exodus of 700,000 Palestinians from Israel.

“We've seen an increase in violence, and we've seen a lot more displacement in the last 16 years,” El-Hah said.

El-Haj is a co-organizer of the local activist group Red Star Tx. She says the Valley connects to Palestine in ways people don't often think about.

“What the Palestinian people are going through is very similar to what people here at the border are going through with the border wall and the increased militarization of the border,” El-Haj explained. “That is just a small glimpse of what they experience in Palestine, so there's always been a solidarity there between the communities. What we're looking to do is educate the community on the fact that Palestinians exist here, and they exist around the world.”

El-Haj said she wants people to do their own research regarding the conflict between Israel and Palestine instead of reading online posts that potentially don’t tell the full story.

“A lot of people think this is a war between the Israelis and Palestinians … I wouldn't even call it a war. Palestine does not have a military, they don't have a government,” El-Haj said. “What is happening right now is against international law. It is unjust." 

El-Haj encourages community members to contact Valley representatives in Congress to call for a cease-fire.

“We want to urge politicians in this country that that's what we need,” El-Haj said. “That's the only way that we can save people, because aid is not getting to them.”

Red Star Tx. will host a solidarity rally on Sunday, Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McAllen at Archer Park, located at 101 N. Main Street.