Right now, working people in Palestine and Colombia are being crushed by a relentless onslaught of murderous violence and dispossession, economic degradation, and inhumane exploitation. They are fighting for their lives, and they are asking for international solidarity. In Palestine, against the ceaseless violence of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing, Palestinians are rising up to resist their own erasure; in Colombia, millions have taken to the streets to fight against a corrupt system by which the government, the police, and the forces of international oligarchic plunder have waged class war on working people. In this special episode of Working People, spanning three continents, we talk to Irene Vélez Torres and Toufic Haddad about the world-changing struggles they are living through in Colombia and Palestine, and about what working people around the world, especially in North America, can do to join the fight.

Interview with Irene Vélez Torres begins at 20:25

Interview with Toufic Haddad begins at 46:51

Additional links/info below…

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

  • Ending Satellites, “While You Are Here”
  • Jules Taylor, “Working People Interlude Music”

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Maximillian Alvarez

Editor-in-Chief
Ten years ago, I was working 12-hour days as a warehouse temp in Southern California while my family, like millions of others, struggled to stay afloat in the wake of the Great Recession. Eventually, we lost everything, including the house I grew up in. It was in the years that followed, when hope seemed irrevocably lost and help from above seemed impossibly absent, that I realized the life-saving importance of everyday workers coming together, sharing our stories, showing our scars, and reminding one another that we are not alone. Since then, from starting the podcast Working People—where I interview workers about their lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles—to working as Associate Editor at the Chronicle Review and now as Editor-in-Chief at The Real News Network, I have dedicated my life to lifting up the voices and honoring the humanity of our fellow workers.
 
Email: max@therealnews.com
 
Follow: @maximillian_alv