Tere Voices Support for Palestine Through 'Maqdisy Heroes Long March' at Banteng Field
Maintaining memories and fostering humanitarian concern for Palestine remains a consistent mission for former musician Annisa Theresia, affectionately known as Tere. Through concrete actions, she encourages young people not to forget history and continue to voice their support for justice.
On Saturday morning (May 16th), the atmosphere at Banteng Field Park in Jakarta was vibrant. Approximately 150 participants, including children, teenagers, and adults, gathered for the ‘Maqdisy Heroes Long March 02’ event. This activity was initiated by the Wasilah Foundation (a forum for Islamic solidarity) as a form of tangible support for the Palestinian people.
The chants of “Free Palestine” echoed throughout the parade route. According to Tere, this spirit of concern must continue to be voiced because the genocide and occupation by Zionist Israel are still ongoing today.
“We all know that these barbaric acts violate our country’s constitution, which states that colonialism on earth must be eradicated because it is incompatible with humanity and justice,” emphasized Tere, who was wearing a black Muslim outfit at the time.
Remembering Nakba and Learning from Gaza
This event focused on the theme of Remembering Nakba and Learning from Gaza, Which Never Gives Up. Tere explained that the Nakba, which occurred in May 1948, is a historical wound where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their ancestral lands.
Zionist Israel seized 77% of Palestinian territory.
Nearly 500 villages were destroyed.
Approximately 15,000 Palestinians died during the event.
Tere emphasized that in the midst of the genocide that has been ongoing for almost three years, similar events to Nakba are still happening in Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian people continue to live in terror due to the cruelty of the IDF soldiers.
Maqdisy Talent Hunt 1448 H: Giving Birth to Literacy Warriors
This long march event also marked the beginning of a series of events called ‘Maqdisy Talent Hunt 1448 H’. This is a talent search competition for children and teenagers aged 5-19 years, initiated by Tere.
This program is committed to answering the message in the Quran, Surah Al-Anfal verse 65, with the goal of producing 20 resilient children each year. “God willing, they will continue to be nurtured so that they transform into warriors of truth who are brave enough to speak out and advocate for the importance of literacy about Baitul Maqdis from an early age,” she added.
At the event in Banteng Field, participants were divided into five groups, each led by the top five winners of ‘Maqdisy Talent 1447 H’. They were tasked with chanting slogans and distributing educational stickers to the general public.
Building Collective Awareness
A number of figures and influencers also attended to show their support, including digital da’wah activist @mosfeed_id, author Gia Josie, art activist Gita Hastarika, Annisa ‘Ketupatkartini’, and a Christian labor activist who supports Palestine. The presence of a Palestinian citizen named Zhiyad also added emotional intensity to the event.
Tere believes that the long march is an effective method of da’wah, following the example of Prophet Muhammad SAW when he was in Mecca. She hopes that this educational and creative activity can build strong collective awareness.
“This collective awareness is important to strengthen collective action towards a global movement. Every small step has great meaning. We will not reach a global scale without starting with simple movements like this,” she concluded.
Support also came from the parents of the participants. Yanuar, one of the parents who attended with his child and wife, said he took the time to show sympathy. “We are here to pray and show our concern for the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine due to the cruelty of Zionists,” he said.