UCLA student hospitalized during hunger strike for Gaza
A hunger-striking student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been hospitalized on the ninth day of her protest action, as hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip continue across campuses in the United States.
Maya Abdullah, one of the participants in the hunger strike protests against the Israeli blockade on Gaza, was rushed to the hospital on May 18 after she fainted on the ninth day of her hunger strike, while seeking to pressure UCLA to divest from Israel.
“On day nine of my hunger strike, I unexpectedly passed out at my school and had to be rushed to the hospital,” Abdullah said in a video on Instagram.
The 23-year-old Palestinian Lebanese film student went on to say that UCLA administration did not respond to notice of her hospitalization, adding that being hospitalized and not having a conversation with the administration was “disheartening.”
However, Abdullah said she believes her journey was “a step towards divestment” as well as “a bunch of many different things.”
Following the incident, a video of the protesting students also emerged online, where they are blaming UCLA for Maya’s hospitalization. The video starts with the words, “This is what happens when UCLA ignores its students. This is on you, UCLA.”
Maya Abdullah is one of the growing group of students at universities across the US who’ve launched hunger strikes amid the Israeli blockade on Gaza to demand their schools divest from Israel and protect free speech on campus.
Hunger strikes are ongoing at Yale, Stanford and at California State University schools as Palestinians in Gaza face a humanitarian catastrophe.
The latest development comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump also fights to deport students who support the Palestinian people.
In some cases, international students have been forced to leave the country after university sanctions prevented them from meeting their student visa requirements.
