A Palestinian Consciousness

During these recent turbulent times of global geopolitics, the world has witnessed the eradication of the Palestinian people in real time, revealing civilization’s barbarity and failure. 

In 1615 the English poet George Sandys described Palestine as “[…] a land that flows with milk and honey; in the midst as it were of the habitable world, and under a temperate clime; adorned with beautiful mountains and luxurious valleys; the rocks producing excellent waters; and no part empty of delight or profit.” (Said, 2025, p. 61).

If Sandys (1578-1644) were to travel today through networks of AI algorithms and mathematical models, he would surely speak of “[…] the ruins he has seen with his own eyes and the stories that echo in every stone. He would note the violent contrast between the sacred past and the profane present, describing the scars of war, barriers, and the bleakness of refugee camps… (Spanish text generated by AI; Google, 2025). Given the implications of the genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel in the present day –not to mention ecocide and juvenicide–, this version is quite embellished.

Reinterpreting The Question of Palestine (Said, 2025), we, the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, want to speak to you from our position of responsibility as a training teachers’ institution. We are a University that questions itself about pedagogies for peace, including the empowerment of a repertoire of knowledge in dialogue with the popular movement. We are committed to an education that fosters critical thinking and social change.

Today, we speak to you from a university that integrates education into a project aimed at building a better future. We see hope as an ethical imperative for uniting an educational project in defense of humanity. So, we ask ourselves: Why should we build a future when genocide is happening before the world’s eyes? How can we walk the path of humanity when inhumanity reigns supremely? Where can we find hope when thousands of Palestinian children are bombed and maimed? 

Collectively, we continue to believe that education is –above all– a project linked to human dignity. To us, education is intertwined with the fight for human rights, adopting a holistic perspective, and setting up a shared ethic (Hinkelammert, 2021). This is why we believe that hope pedagogy and building a future require decisions that favor humanity and teach people to defend their dignity.

It is wanted for Colombian society to be informed that a museum exhibition on loan from the Anne Frank Center is currently being hosted by our University at the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional. The exhibition aims to preserve historical memory to ensure that the genocide suffered by the Jewish people is never repeated. The memory of Anne Frank, a victim of a genocidal machine, is linked to students, teachers, and workers who believe in creating other possible worlds. Additionally, we would like to highlight that our university is surrounded by murals commemorating members of our community who were victims of those who oppose life.

As the poet Humberto Akabal (2009) says, “Now and then I walk backwards. It is my way of remembering. If I only walked forward, I could tell you about forgetting.” We must look back on the past to understand the present, as the future is rooted in memories and committed to the present moment. Now is the time for every possible, necessary, and urgent gesture of humanity.

Last October 2, one day after Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza, and two years into a new phase of barbarism against the Palestinian people –and 77 years after the Nakba– the UPN community held an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. They acknowledged the Palestinians’ struggles and collective dignity. 

A simple statement and a small gesture felt all the way in Gaza. This sign comes from a committed heart. We declare that our campus is free of Israeli apartheid. We affirm that UPN stands against violence, colonialism, and racism.