Sister City Rafah, Palestine

This is the first motion I put to the chamber. It was particularly important at this time as we have many Palestinian residents in Brimbank who were being catastrophically affected by the bombings taking place. This motion was a humanitarian response to a very bloody crisis - a war that continues to divide people. Sister city relationships have been built by other councils around Australia as a way to promote friendship and understanding of peoples at a person to person level. This is exactly the role local government should take in fostering harmony in our community.

Geraldine

Notice of Motion
To: Chief Executive Officer
Please note that it is my intention to propose the following motion at the Ordinary Meeting of the Council to be held on January 27th, 2009
Subject: Sister City Agreement with Rafah, Palestine

Motion:
That Council officers prepare a report to investigate the range of opportunities for a Sister City relationship between Rafah in Palestine and Brimbank City Council.
Given the recent bloodshed in Gaza it is timely that our Council reach out to the men, women and children of Palestine in a spirit of humanitarian friendship. A sister city relationship can help us to work together to create a lasting, sincere partnership to better foster understanding between people who have not traditionally had a chance to get to know one another. It is our belief that by forming such bonds between communities, misunderstandings can be overcome and distances and differences whether they be cultural, linguistic or political can be bridged. We believe these sorts of humanistic, people-to-people connections are vital to creating a world in which all people are treated with respect.

Background
Rafah is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sinai Peninsula. Over the ages is has been known as Robihwa by the ancient Egyptians, Rafihu by the Assyrians, Raphia by the Greeks and Romans, Rafiach by Israelites and now Rafah.
In ancient times, it was an important settlement on the Othmans road, connecting Egypt with the Al-Sham countries (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine).
According to the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel at Camp David in 1982, Rafah was divided into two parts: One part was assigned to Egypt, the other part to the Gaza Strip (Palestine).
The people of Rafah and all Palestinians in the territories of Gaza and the West Bank, for that matter live under Israeli military occupation. They are not citizens of Israel or of any state, and have no rights of protest or redress. The occupation is a violent daily reality, in which Israeli soldiers, checkpoints, tanks, helicopter gunships, and F-16 fighter jets control every aspect of Palestinian lives, and have brought social, family and economic life to a virtual halt. What we often hear described simply as “the violence” in the Middle East cannot be understood without an understanding of what military occupation means.