Why Southeast Asians marched for Gaza and why the movement is far from over
19 Jun 2025 07:27pm
Indonesian Muslims attend a rally in support of the ?Global March to Gaza? at Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Bekasi, West Java on June 15, 2025. (Photo by Aditya Irawan / AFP)
Last week, dozens of Malaysians and Indonesians left their homes with nothing but conviction in their hearts. From different walks of life activists, students, mothers, artists, professionals they came together to join the Global March to Gaza, a multinational civil society campaign calling for an end to the inhumane blockade on Gaza.
They were not politicians or diplomats. They were ordinary people taking an extraordinary stand representing a region that has, time and again, voiced deep solidarity with Palestine.
The march brought over 4,000 participants from more than 80 countries to Cairo. Their goal was peaceful: to approach the Rafah crossing and call for unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, where over two million people remain trapped under siege.
Among them was the Southeast Asian delegation known as 'Qafla Al-Samoud,' made up of volunteers from Malaysia and Indonesia who believed it was time to act.But on June 14, the mission was halted.
Participants were blocked in Ismailia. Some were detained, others deported. A protester holds a placard depicting French-Palestinian lawyer and member of European Parliament for La France Insoumise (LFI) party Rima Hassan during a pro-Palestinian demonstration called by several French unions in Paris on June 14, 2025. French Democratic Confederation of Labour trade union (CFDT), French trade union General Confederation of Labour (CGT), French National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (Unsa) Unsa, French group of trade unions Union syndicale Solidaires (SUD) and French trade union "Federation Syndicale Unitaire" (FSU) are calling for people to join "the mobilisation for Palestine" on June 14, 2025 and denounce "the Israeli authorities mortifying headlong rush and the atrocities" in Gaza, according to a joint statement. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP)
Threats of violence, confiscation of passports, and prolonged holding at checkpoints made clear that although no official ban was declared the march would not be allowed to proceed.
This was not due to Israeli interference, as many first assumed. Instead, it was Egyptian authorities who imposed the restrictions. For a peaceful campaign that operated within Egyptian law and coordinated with embassies, the message was deeply troubling: solidarity is seen as a threat.
Yet, what they tried to stop on the ground only grew stronger across the globe.
From Mexico to Cyprus, more than 50 parallel actions were carried out. The Freedom Flotilla's 'Madeleine' ship set sail from Italy, carrying aid and international hope before being intercepted by Israeli forces.
Despite physical setbacks, these efforts have reignited a wave of public support for Palestine not just in the Middle East, but globally. The Southeast Asian presence in the march is 'historic.' Because these weren't just protests, they were proof that the people of Southeast Asia refuse to be complicit in genocide.
They marched for every child under rubble, every parent grieving, every classroom destroyed. They marched because silence is no longer an option.
Now that the campaign has concluded, the next phase must begin: sustained pressure, legal action, media awareness, and regional mobilisation. We must continue to raise our voices, support humanitarian efforts and hold power to account.
The Global March to Gaza is not over. It is only just beginning.
Revda Selver is Friends of Palestine Public Relation and Media Executive. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.
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