1929 – 2012
30 August 2012
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Protest march in 1987 by students and faculty of Birzeit University led by Dr. Gabi Baramki
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Days before he departed, Gabi asked his life
companion, Mrs. Haifa Baramki, to read for him the latest email from the
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
(PACBI), so he could contribute to the discussion and share his views
regarding a letter PACBI was drafting to encourage BDS campaigners in
South African Universities to intensify their efforts. We in PACBI’s
Steering Committee were astonished to see Gabi’s timely answer to the
email! How could anyone in the intensive care unit, barely clinging on
to his life, keep on thinking about resistance and his contribution to
the national struggle till his last breath?
But here is where the secret lies, our dear colleague
and friend Gabi was not just “anyone;” he was a distinguished, highly
accomplished professional, yet also a most principled, dignified and
compassionate human. He dedicated his entire life to education and
resisting Israel’s colonization as well as the fight for the full rights
for the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination,
freedom, justice and the right of return.
Gabi never made us or anyone else feel his
prominence as a Palestinian figure, or even his seniority in terms of
age, despite his eight decades with all their wealth of experiences,
eminent achievements and lessons learned. He used to engage and
participate with everyone as colleagues on equal terms, and did not seek
to be distinguished, though distinction was in his DNA.
When we decided to launch a campaign against the
Israeli museum that was established in the place of his birth in
Jerusalem – the Baramki House – that was confiscated by Israel in the
1948 Nakba, we used to go over the details of the Israeli theft of the
house, a fate endured by tens of thousands of Palestinians who were
ethnically cleansed, forced out of their homes and turned into refugees
by the Zionist paramilitary groups and later by the state of Israel. We
discussed the intricacies of the house, poring over its particulars,
architectural beauty, the details of the family uprooting and banishment
to what became known as East Jerusalem… and Gabi participated in the
discussion throughout while rising above his own personal sorrow. This
continued till he described to us how his father, the architect and
owner of the house, used to visit the separation line that divided West
and East Jerusalem everyday and sit for hours watching his stolen home,
in silence and anguish and with determination to reconnect with it, at
least spiritually. At that point, Gabi, and only for a moment, was
overwhelmed by his emotions.
Gabi never succumbed to his personal history of
dispossession or resigned to the role of the victim; he resisted and
triumphed in many ways: from becoming acting president of Birzeit
University, after its president, Dr. Hanna Nasir was exiled by the
Israeli occupation authorities, to leading his fellow colleagues in
national demonstrations against the closure of Palestinian universities
in 1988, in the midst of the first Intifada. He had many other major
accomplishments, especially in developing education in Palestine through
his prominent posts at the Ministry of Higher Education and the Council
for Higher Education, as well as through his voluntary work in leading
non-governmental organizations. Gabi commanded national respect and
admiration like few others.
His contribution to building the boycott, divestment
and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel through his voluntary work
in the Steering Committee of PACBI was powerful, sophisticated, and
marked by generosity and creativity. Gabi was without a doubt the
'Campaign’s diplomat’, par excellence. He was the man for tough jobs who
did not hesitate for a moment in knocking on the door of a minister or
senior official to set things right and resist normalization with Israel
or to spread the culture of BDS in schools as an integral component of
bringing up a generation rooted in principles of dignity, freedom, and
self-determination realized through resisting oppression.
The best of educators is that person who inspires
people to think, to learn, and to take action on their own accord and
without indoctrination, who instead of 'teaching’, in the traditional
sense, nourishes learning and leads by example. We have all
learned from Gabi, without him needing to 'teach us’. We learned from
him to combine dignity, humility and boundless giving in the process of
struggling for freedom and liberation of the mind.
We will miss Gabi; all Palestinians will miss him. Indeed, all those fighting for freedom, justice and dignity will too.
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