Youth always wins

“Youth always win” is a cultural and historical truth that I’ve witnessed across generations. Each new wave of youth sees the world differently; they question what came before, break the boundaries that confine them, and imagine possibilities others cannot. They carry an energy, creativity, and resilience that make progress not only possible but also inevitable. Unburdened by the guilt of past generations, they lean forward into the future. They are, in every sense, evolution in motion.

History shows us that youth movements rarely go uncontested. In 1968, Paris erupted with the cries of students and workers. In the US, the civil rights movement was led and carried by the young. In the 1980s, I stood witness to the anti-apartheid struggle and the courage of those who risked everything for justice. Each of these movements met fierce resistance, yet each carved out reform that reshaped society. The lesson is clear: the voices of the young, persistent, and unrelenting always outlast the systems that seek to silence them.

Today, that same spirit is visible on a global scale. The unwavering advocacy for Palestinian freedom, dignity, and rights that I see on the streets and on the screen of my phone is nothing short of unprecedented. I never imagined I would live to see people of every background, creed, and colour stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity, day after day, for a cause that was dismissed or denied for so long.

What moves me most is the way these young voices carry themselves. They are not shackled by the history that has weighed so heavily on others. They are not bound by convention, nor can they be guilted into silence. They are informed in real time, forming their own views from facts livestreamed 24 hours a day. And perhaps most powerful of all: many of them have no direct connection to Palestine. They have never set foot on the land nor traced their family roots there. Yet they stand, speak, march, and create, driven not by affiliation but by humanity. They act out of a conviction that freedom and equality are inalienable rights that belong to all.

There is something both humbling and electrifying in that—to see children, students, and young professionals across continents take up a cause not their own, yet carry it as though it is, restores a faith I sometimes thought I’d lost. History tells us that when people rise together, governments eventually bend. True power has never belonged to rulers but to the governed. And so I say, with conviction: change will come.

I commend the youth for their voices, for their clarity, and for their courage. I thank them for reminding us that the arc of progress is not written by the powerful, but by those who refuse to be silent. And I feel deeply grateful that my parents are here to witness this moment with me, living proof that the struggles of one generation are never in vain—because youth always wins.