Malak Abdallahi at her graduation.
Fossil Ridge High School student Malak Abdallahi won the right to display the Palestinian flag at her Texas graduation.
Electronic Intifada reported:
Malak Abdallahi had to fight to be allowed carry the Palestinian flag at her graduation ceremony in Texas earlier this month.
She overcame opposition by administrators at the Fossil Ridge High School just outside Fort Worth.
Officially, the school is happy to celebrate the diverse origins of its students by displaying the flags of numerous countries during the graduation procession.
When Abdallahi decided that she wished to have her Palestinian identity recognized during this year’s ceremony, she went first to her vice-principal Buddy Read. He told her that there shouldn’t be any problem with obtaining a Palestinian flag for the event.
A few days later, the vice-principal called her into his office where he informed her that the administrators were not comfortable with her carrying the Palestinian flag. Abdallahi was shocked but did not know how to respond. “I’m not one to argue, and I didn’t want to come off aggressive, immature, or unprofessional,” she said…
…Abdallahi told Hadley that she was being denied her right to self-expression and being targeted because of one person’s narrow-minded views.
Hadley assured her that he would make his decision based solely on the high school’s mission and eventually agreed to have Palestine represented at the ceremony. “We will buy you a flag and if someone gets upset, we’ll deal with it,” he said, according to Abdallahi. “It’s your graduation and you have a right to represent your heritage.”
Abdallahi was overjoyed. “I cried. I felt so Palestinian. You can go to Palestine or any other place and eat their food and breathe their air, but it’s not until you do something in their name that you feel that pride.”
And so, Abdallahi marched through the Fort Worth Convention Center on 8 June, carrying the Palestinian flag. It was a small victory but not an insignificant one.
So there you have it.
Texas high school students can’t pray at graduation but can carry Palestinian flags.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
