Kent State’s Arab Student Association organized a bracelet sale Tuesday to raise money for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund on the K.

The Arab Student Association had previously made bracelets at one of their meetings and students were able to take one of those bracelets after making a donation, Carmen Barghouty, a senior psychology major and president of the Arab Student Association, said.

Some of the bracelets available featured designs pertaining to Palestine, such as colors from the Palestine flag and sayings like “Free Palestine,” Barghouty said.

Barghouty said she hopes the money from the fundraiser will be able to aid with the recovery through the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund primarily provides aid to children in Gaza as there are a lot of humanitarian crises occurring there, especially after the bombing of Gaza’s oncology hospital, Barghouty said.

“Right now there is no clean water, not much food going around, we’ve seen a lot of horrific videos and [Palestine Children’s Relief Fund] goes to that,” she said.

As a result of the humanitarian crises occurring, Barghouty said a number of deaths have occurred in Palestine.

“11,000 people in Palestine have died due to the war on Gaza… probably around half of those being children,” she said. “This fundraiser is just really important and we’re trying to educate people.”

In regards to educating people, Barghouty said the Arab Student Association wants to educate students about the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the Western influences affecting how the war is being viewed.

“There’s a lot of Western influence and so a lot of people aren’t seeing the other side to it,” Barghouty said.

This is not the first time the Arab Student Association has made efforts to make people aware of the Palestinian war. They have partnered with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in the past to write chalk messages on the K and previously held a vigil.

Autumn Davlin, a senior art history major, said she was unable to attend previous events relating to Palestinians but is grateful for the fundraiser.

“I’m only on campus two times a week so I haven’t seen any other events besides this one,” Davlin said. “It was easier to donate to charity on campus that I can see and know that it’s going to go to what exactly they’re seeing it’s going to go to.”

Prior to attending the fundraiser, Davlin said she had heard about the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and how the event was a great opportunity to educate people about it.

“I’ve seen lots of people take pictures of [the fundraiser’s table] and repost it and send it to everywhere on campus,” Davlin said.

One of those who reposted the event was sophomore anthropology major Braelyn Mielke, as she said she would like to see the Palestinian war talked about more frequently. 

“I believe that it needs to be talked about way more especially amongst college students,” Mielke said. “I think sharing and giving out resources and just helping as much as I can for Palestine is on my priority list right now for sure.”

For those who would like to aid in the effort towards demanding a ceasefire, Barghouty said to text “Ceasefire” to 5190 to help put pressure on government officials.

“A lot of people don’t think speaking out or donating doesn’t help but it really does, just spreading the message helps,” Barghouty said. “If you see something about Palestine, repost, educate yourselves on both truths, don’t be in the biased.”

Adriana Gasiewski is a staff reporter. Contact her at [email protected].