On the last day of this current strike, let me tell you about another occupation in history.
In 1396 all of Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule after the Empire conquered first the Tarnovo Kingdom and then the Vidin Kingdom. Thus started almost five centuries of Ottoman occupation on Bulgarian lands. What followed were typical settler and occupationist tactics, like several massacres and killings, restricting the occupied population to certain parts of cities, not allowing them to practice their religion nor have their government or at least representatives in the Ottoman government, other than municipal leaders. They weren't allowed to wear especially nice clothing, they had to pay higher taxes and had to do unpaid work for the Ottoman population. Many Bulgarians left the territories then to avoid the persecution and sometimes forced religious conversion.
A few large uprisings took place up until the tail end of the 17th century. Meanwhile, in the 16th century violent resistance groups started forming, as will always happen under a violent occupation. They were called the Haiduti and their goals were mainly to protect the people in their own provinces from Ottoman violence.
In 1875 a new uprising was planned by the members of revolutionary committees for the spring of the following year. The Bulgarian population didn't have much in terms of weapons other than flintlock pistols and riffles, alongside cannons carved out of cherry trees, while the Ottoman forces had Winchester riffles and naval guns. Unfortunately, the Ottomans caught wind of what was happening and started arresting known revolutionaries, which caused the uprising to start earlier than expected, on April 20th. What followed in the next month and a half was uprisings all over the country. They were all stopped by the Ottoman armies.
But Bulgaria's liberation efforts didn't go unnoticed. Soon after the April Uprising, a journalist for the British Daily News by the name of Januarius MacGahan started reporting the Ottoman violence on the Bulgarian population in the newspaper. What followed were anti-Ottoman protests throughout Europe, garnering the support of people like Victor Hugo, Dostoevsky, William Gladstone, and many others. With the world's eyes on Bulgaria, the tides started to turn.
You will probably recognize many of these events as similar to what's happened and happening to Palestine. A violent occupation met with resistance which is now being broadcast for all the world to see. A media outcry larger than any in the 1870s could ever be.
Keep talking about Palestine. Keep posting, keep sharing, keep donating, keep protesting, keep doing what you're able to do. But never stop putting Palestine in the public eye.
Bulgaria was officially liberated through the Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano on March 3rd 1878 after the Russo-Turkish war. Of course, that was the first of many steps along the path for our complete independence, but we still celebrate March 3rd as Liberation Day. In one week from now we will celebrate 146 years.
Palestine, I hope to be able to celebrate your liberation and freedom alongside you, sooner rather than later.
from the river to the sea,
germansingergirl
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