Rima Hassan
Rima Hassan | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Member of the European Parliament for France | |
Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Rima Hassan Mobarak 28 April 1992 Neirab camp, Aleppo, Syria |
Citizenship | Palestine • France |
Political party | LFI (2023–present) |
Alma mater | Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Université de Montpellier University of Évry Val d'Essonne |
Occupation | Jurist • Lawyer • Politician |
Rima Hassan Mobarak (Arabic: ريما حسان مبارك, Rīmā Ḥasān Mubārak; born 28 April 1992) is a French-Palestinian jurist, human rights activist and politician born in the Palestinian refugee camp of Neirab, near Aleppo, Syria.
Stateless, she arrived in France around the age of nine and settled with her family in Niort. After obtaining French nationality upon reaching adulthood, she earned a master's degree in international law from Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
Hassan then founded, in 2019, the 'Refugee Camps Observatory', an NGO dedicated to the study and protection of refugee camps worldwide. In 2023, she founded the 'Action Palestine France' collective. That same year, she joined La France Insoumise to contest the 2024 European parliament election on Manon Aubry's list. She was elected to the European Parliament on 9 June 2024.[1]
Family and origins
[edit]Rima Hassan Mobarak was born on 28 April 1992, in the Neirab camp, near Aleppo, Syria.[2]
She is the youngest of six children. Her mother, Nabiha (1958-2021), was a teacher, while her father is a former mechanic in the Syrian Air Force named Ahmad.[3] Her father's parents, Palestinians originally from the village of Al-Birwa, were forced into exile to Syria during the creation of Israel in May 1948 during the Nakba.[4][5]
Her maternal grandmother, on the other hand, came from a prominent Syrian family, the Hananu. She married a Palestinian refugee from Salfit.[5][6] Because of her notable status and his being a Palestinian communist refugee, she chose to forsake her heritage and settle with him in the camp.[3]
Youth and studies
[edit]Due to the unhappy marriage and an abusive relationship between her parents, Hassan's mother left the camp shortly after her birth and managed to immigrate to France, where she reunited with one of her sisters.[3] She then spent eight years attempting to regain custody of her children and transfer them to France.[3]
Her mother ultimately managed to do it, and Hassan arrived in France around the age of nine. She settled in Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres region, with her mother,[7] sister and four brothers.[8] She was elected to the children's municipal council in 2003, in Niort.[9] She studied there at Ernest Pérochon Primary School.[10] During this time, her mother did not work as a teacher, her original profession, but instead worked in restaurants to support her family.[3] Hassan was targeted by hate speech during her schooling, including being called ethnic slurs like 'bougnoule' (wog) by her classmates.[3] This led to a progressive loss of her native language, Arabic.[3] She obtained a scientific baccalaureate from La Venise Verte High School in 2011.[10]
Stateless until her adulthood, she obtained French nationality in 2010.[4] As soon as she reached the age of majority, she sought to travel to Palestine via Tel Aviv, intending to "finally discover the land of her ancestors", but she was prevented from boarding at Charles de Gaulle Airport.[7]
After these events, she pursued studies in law and obtained her bachelor's degree. For this, she spent two years at the University of Évry, then one year at the University of Montpellier, until 2014.[10] She spent a year in Lebanon and completed her master's degree in 2016 at Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1).[8] She focused on the legal comparison between South Africa and Israel in a master's thesis in international law on the issue of apartheid.[11][12]
According to her, obtaining her degree from Panthéon-Sorbonne was a source of great pride for her mother because the university's reputation would have been known even in the Neirab camp.[3]
Work
[edit]Hassan joined the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) in 2016,[8] and after 18 months, she worked at the National Court of Asylum Law[4][13] for six years until 2023.[7] In 2019, she founded the NGO 'Refugee Camps Observatory'.[8][14][3][15] The following year, Hassan participated in a roundtable organized by Emmaus for the World Refugee Day, on 20 June.[16]
In 2022, the Interministerial Delegation for Reception and Integration dedicated a portrait to her as an "Inspirational Woman".[17][18] That same year, she revisited the notion of "fraternity" from the French national motto in a podcast, along with other participants.[19]
On 3 February 2023, she spoke at the French Senate for the symposium "Israel-Palestine: State of Affairs" organized by Paris Senator Esther Benbassa, in collaboration with L'Histoire and the French Research Center in Jerusalem.[12][20] Her intervention addressed the issue of apartheid in Israeli society.[21]
Following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, amid the bombing of the Gaza Strip and the ground offensive launched by Israel, she terminated her contract with the National Court of Asylum Law and declined an advocacy position on migration issues offered by Amnesty International. Instead, she moved to the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Nayrab, near Aleppo, "to be close to her people" and established the Action Palestine France collective on Telegram.[7]
Hassan also said that it was "morally unacceptable to rejoice in the deaths of civilians."[22] It is often claimed that she said that Hamas actions were justified, in fact she was asked to answer "true" or "false" to several statements. In that interview, she answers "true" to the question "Is Hamas carrying out a legitimate action?" and "false" to the question "Does the State of Israel have a right of defence?" Hassan asked for the interview to be broadcast in full "so that she could share her thoughts and refute the attacks made against her. According to the media's editor-in-chief, the edited teaser was "out of context" and produced without their agreement. Throughout the interview, Hassan describes the actions of Hamas as "terrorist" and deems "legitimate" only the group's political wing, the winner of the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, denouncing as "illegitimate" its attack on October 7 and any other crimes. Furthermore, she recalls that in the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 30 November 1973, the General Assembly reaffirmed "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity and liberation from colonial and alien domination and foreign control by all means in their power, including armed struggle."[23] [24]
Until November 2023, she also advised L'Oréal on diversity and refugee integration issues.[25]
Politics
[edit]In August 2023, she participated in the summer days organized by The Ecologists, alongside the rapper Médine or the politician Clémentine Autain.[26]
In the 2024 European elections, Hassan joined the list of La France Insoumise (LFI), where she was placed seventh,[27][28] after also being approached to be on the list of The Greens but in a non-eligible position.[29][30] She was elected.[31]
She explains her political commitment to LFI's list by the "urgent need to act politically now" regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.[32]
Cyberbullying
[edit]Amid the events of 2023 and 2024, Hassan became the target of a harassment campaign by a pro-Israel group of about thirty members. Her phone number was reportedly doxxed via Telegram, leading to an onslaught of death and rape threats directed at Hassan.[33] She was also sent imagery of Palestinians being brutalised.[34]
References
[edit]- ^ CUAU, Olivier (9 June 2024). "La Franco-palestinienne Rima Hassan (LFI), qui a grandi à Niort, va entrer au Parlement européen". Courrier de l'Ouest (in French). Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ Checknews, Service; Lacroix, Jade. "Origines, formation, relations avec la Syrie : que valent les accusations contre Rima Hassan publiées dans une «vidéo choc» relayée par Tapiro ?". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i à 11h15, Par Emmanuelle Vibert Le 28 mai 2022 (28 May 2022). "Rima Hassan, à l'origine de l'Observatoire des camps de réfugiés, se veut la voix des "indésirables"". leparisien.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Gendron, Guillaume. "Rima Hassan, la Palestine à cœur et à cris". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b "" Être réfugiée palestinienne, c'est vivre en quête de son identité "". Association France Palestine Solidarité (in French). Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "C'est l'histoire de Malak, héritière syrienne tombée amoureuse d'un charismatique Palestinien". Le Nouvel Obs (in French). 5 January 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Rima Hassan, la Palestine chevillée au cœur". Le Monde.fr (in French). 14 January 2024. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Rima Hassan : "L'intégration ne se dicte pas, elle se vit"". La Nouvelle République. 27 November 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024..
- ^ l’AFP, LE COURRIER DE L’OUEST avec (18 March 2024). "La très controversée Rima Hassan a suivi sa scolarité en Deux-Sèvres". Courrier de l'Ouest (in French). Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Centre Presse (Vienne), saturday 27 November 2021, p. 46, Bio express
- ^ Poinssot, Amélie (29 October 2023). "Rima Hassan, réfugiée palestinienne : " Nous subissons une punition collective "". Mediapart (in French). Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b ""Israël-Palestine : Etat des lieux" : un colloque organisé au Sénat - 100% Sénat". Public Sénat (in French). 7 May 2024. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "En sol majeur - Rima Hassan Mobarak, au service des Réfugiés". RFI (in French). 29 October 2022. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ AFP (29 November 2019). "Rima Hassan, visage et contre-pouvoir des camps de réfugiés". Challenges (in French). Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Rima Hassan : la voix des camps de réfugiés". À Priori(s) (in French). Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Journée mondiale des Réfugiés : on se mobilise en ligne (et en musique)". www.journaldesfemmes.fr (in French). 19 June 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ AFP (30 April 2024). "Rima Hassan, la "petite dernière de la famille" insoumise, sur le devant de la scène". Challenges (in French). Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Legay, Luc (8 March 2022). "#Dansmavie avec Rima Hassan ⋆ Diair". Diair (in French). Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "[Comme si vous y étiez] Le Tribunal des Générations Futures et le Laboratoire de la fraternité interrogent la devise républicaine | Carenews INFO". www.carenews.com (in French). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Israël-Palestine au palais du Luxembourg". www.lhistoire.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Colloque Israël-Palestine : État des lieux – Vendredi 3 février 2023 – Palais du Luxembourg" (in French). Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Rima Hassan, la Palestine chevillée au cœur". Le Monde.fr (in French). 14 January 2024. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ ""ACTION LÉGITIME" DU HAMAS : AUTOPSIE DE LA POLÉMIQUE RIMA HASSAN". www.arretsurimages.net. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ à 19h08, Par P. R. Le 3 février 2024; À 17h52, Modifié Le 5 Février 2024 (3 February 2024). "Forbes : la cérémonie des « 40 femmes de l'année » annulée à cause de la présence de la militante Rima Hassan". leparisien.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Rima Hassan : les ambiguïtés d'une "Greta Thunberg" de la cause palestinienne". L'Express (in French). 29 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ AFP, avec (31 July 2023). "Les Journées d'été des écologistes se dérouleront au Havre dès le 24 août, le rappeur Médine invité". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Elections européennes 2024 : La France insoumise dévoile sa liste, la militante propalestinienne Rima Hassan en septième position". Franceinfo (in French). 6 March 2024. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Rima Hassan, le choix de l'insoumission". Le Monde.fr (in French). 16 March 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ à 19h56, Par Pierre Maurer Le 18 mars 2024 (18 March 2024). "Européennes : avec Rima Hassan, LFI place la Palestine au cœur de sa campagne". leparisien.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Pol, Chez. "Européennes : les Ecologistes ont tenté de débaucher Rima Hassan". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Rima Hassan - X (Twitter)". x.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Élections européennes : 5 choses à savoir sur Rima Hassan, la voix palestinienne de LFI". TF1 INFO (in French). 9 March 2024. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Gicquel, Jérôme (29 May 2024). "Réseaux sociaux : Que risque-t-on à balancer, comme Rima Hassan, le 06 de son cyberharceleur ?". 20 Minutes (in French). Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Miadi, Fadwa (23 April 2024). "Rima Hassan : « Je suis habitée par la Palestine »" [Rima Hassan: "I am inhabited by Palestine"]. Le Courier de l'Atlas (in French).