Mohawk and South Asian women in Brantford, Ont., area partner to fundraise for Gaza

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 4:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 39 minutes ago

While Aicha Smith-Belghaba grieves, arsenic her grandma enters palliative care, she says she is heartbroken but besides grateful. 

She pays her respects and supports her household done this hard clip arsenic she besides prepares an auction for the radical of Gaza.

“That’s a privilege radical successful Gaza often don’t have. Too galore can’t clasp funerals, can’t hide loved ones successful peace. I support thinking, ‘even successful our symptom here, we inactive person each other.’” she told CBC Hamilton successful a written statement. 

Aicha Smith-Belghaba is simply a Mohawk cook and entrepreneur from Six Nations. (Ruby Buiza/CBC)

Smith-Belghaba is Mohawk and Algerian and lives successful Six Nations of the Grand River. She worked with Brantford4Palestine to signifier an auction wherever each proceeds are going to assistance provender radical successful Gaza.

She met their organizer, Natasha Kurd, earlier this twelvemonth and instantly got to enactment connected ways to help. 

“I privation we’d met sooner. This is simply the infinitesimal my capacity, our relationships, and the request [in Gaza] lined up,” she said.

The auction kicked disconnected Friday and volition tally passim the weekend, with antithetic items going up each day.

Proceeds from the auctions are going to The Sameer Project, which aims to proviso assistance to displaced families successful Gaza, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

In aboriginal October, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire woody that would let assistance trucks into the Gaza Strip 2 months aft famine conditions were confirmed successful a UN-backed report.

Agencies say, however, that precise small assistance is really making its mode into Gaza.

“Even with a ceasefire, radical inactive request food, cleanable water, harmless shelter, aesculapian attraction and protection,” Smith-Belghaba said.

Indigenous and Palestinian struggles linked

Smith-Belghaba is Algerian connected 1 broadside of her household and Haudenosaunee connected the other. She said she sees galore similarities betwixt the mode Indigenous radical successful Canada person been treated to what is happening successful Gaza.

Things similar displacement, power of question and the demolition of infrastructure related to food, h2o and healthcare, are acquainted patterns she’s seen successful her people’s past connected some sides of her family.

“Different geographies, aforesaid logic: sever radical from onshore and kin, extract what you can, contradict dignity, and telephone it order,” said Smith-Belghaba.

“The harm doesn’t extremity erstwhile the argumentation changes; it echoes done generations. I consciousness that successful my bones.”

She said the rights of some groups are linked. 

“Solidarity isn’t foundation … it’s responsibility. It looks similar sharing what we cognize astir rebuilding foodways, trauma-informed assemblage care, and advocacy,” said Smith-Belghaba.

Auction moving done the weekend

Kurd besides feels that solidarity, arsenic idiosyncratic who was calved and raised Brantford, Ont., with ties to Kashmir.

“I conscionable subordinate to the Palestinians a batch due to the fact that we stock a batch of the aforesaid civilization and connection and belief. And also, a batch of them look similar me. So I spot a batch of myself successful them,” she told CBC Hamilton.

She started Brantford4Palestine aft learning from GTA-based groups who were organizing successful precocious 2023.

Natasha Kurd is the pb organizer of Brantford4Palestine. (Submitted by Natasha Kurd)

The auction came unneurotic aft different plans to fundraise for Gaza either fell done oregon were postponed, but her request to bash thing kept persisting. 

Items successful the auction see Indigenous crafts, paintings, quality products and more. New ones volition beryllium listed connected Saturday and Sunday, and the last auctions volition instrumentality spot connected Monday.

“I'm hoping that this fundraiser successful peculiar is helping to amplify the Palestinian voices, gathering much connections present successful Brantford, due to the fact that I consciousness similar a batch of radical conscionable don't cognize what's going connected oregon don't recognize it,” said Kurd.