ACTION ALERT
Farewell Ali Kased
4 April 2005
Al-Awda Mourns the Passing of Ali Kased
"Amongst the believers are men
who fulfilled their covenant with God. Some of them have
paid their vow and passed away, and some of them still are
waiting ; and they have not altered in the least."
(The Holy Qur'an, 3:23)
It is with a deep sense of loss that Al-Awda,
The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, mourns the passing
of Ali Kased. A devoted son of Palestine and a long-time
activist for Palestinian rights, Kased passed away in the
early hours of Sunday, April 3, 2005 at the age of 62. Throughout
his life, Ali epitomized the best in the Palestinian struggle
for liberation and return. His commitment to the cause of
Palestine was matched only by an equally unshakable fidelity
to the principles of freedom and justice for the oppressed
world-wide.
Kased was born in a village near Ramallah,
Ein Yabrood, on May 27th, 1942, six years before Al-Nakba,
"the Catastrophe". The mass expulsion of hundreds
of thousands of Palestinians was an event that defined Kased's
life, prompting him to devote his life to struggling for
the return of Palestinian refugees and exiles to their homeland.
As a teenage activist, Kased was exiled
to Egypt, where he obtained a degree in economics and political
science from the American University at Cairo. It was during
his stay in Egypt that he became a member of the Nasserite
Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM). A few years later, Ali
relocated to Puerto Rico, where he obtained his Master's
Degree.
Kased's unique style of community organizing
stands out as one of his everlasting legacies. Though versed
in a myriad of political ideas, theories and analyses, Kased
possessed the enviable ability to organize and mobilize
the various sectors of the Arab and Palestinian-American
communities.
Kased was a consistent supporter of Al-Awda,
the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. His guidance was
instrumental in the establishment and development of Al-Awda's
NY chapter. Kased was one of the keynote speakers at Al-Awda's
2003 annual international convention. Despite his failing
health, he attended the two-days long conference in NYC,
where he gave a brilliant and sobering analysis of the decades-long
Palestinian struggle for national liberation.
Kased is survived by his strong and loving
wife of 29 years, Fatma; four daughters, Arwa, Khulood,
Rama, and Reem; two sons, Jamil and Hakim; one granddaughter,
Fatma; and three grandsons, Ali, Wajih, and Adam.
Rest in peace, Ali Kased, for your sacrifices
were not in vain. You, along with many Palestinians of your
generation who fell so that Palestine may rise again, have
planted the seeds of determination to return to Palestine
in the hearts and minds of the Palestinian people for generations
to come.
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail: info@al-awda.org
WWW: http://al-awda.org
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists
and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are
a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3)
organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines,
your donations to PRRC
are tax-deductible. |
