A group of Indian expatriate housewives in the Eastern Province belonging to different faiths donated blood Saturday to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The family wing of an Indian socio-cultural group, Navodaya, participated in a weeklong blood donation campaign in the province. “Women and children are the ones who suffer most in such eventualities anywhere in the world, and therefore we want to express solidarity with the Gazans, who are literally tormented by Israelis, which is unacceptable,” said Nandini Mohan, joint secretary of ‘Kudumbavedi,' the family wing of Navodaya. One of the participants in the blood donation campaign, Nandini expressed surprise that “there is no intervention from any of the countries in the world including India to stop the massacre of civilians, and this is mainly due to American chauvinism.” “We want the world to know how we Indians feel about it. We have come here to donate our blood to the wounded Gazans. This is the only way we can help them,” she said. The women who turned up for blood donation were mainly housewives, who would prefer not to react to such things back in India, but here they feel compelled to speak out due to the intolerable atrocities of Israel on women and children in Gaza, she said. The Navodaya blood donation campaign kicked off last Monday in Al-Ahsa, Dammam, and Hofuf. According to the organizers, it has attracted about 200 people who willingly participated in the drive. Another donor, Jaya Murali, was thrilled to donate blood for the Gazans. “Religion is not an issue here, and I want to give blood to send a message to the world that a humanitarian cause is above religion and politics. We may be from different parts of the world, belonging to different faiths, but the bond of humanity binds us all together.” “Those suffering in Gaza are like my own brothers and sisters, and I feel devastated to learn about the situation there, where so many women and children are being killed and wounded. I hope and pray that the world will unite to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” she said. Shameena Basheer said that she had gone with her husband to donate blood. “We want to set examples for our children by helping people regardless of their nationality and other barriers. We want to teach them the value of humanity, which is diminishing nowadays,” she said.
