Tag: Gaza

Swindon Palestine Solidarity Host Summer Fete

Swindon Palestine Solidarity will be hosting a summer fete on Saturday 23rd August, at 12.30pm – 3.30pm. They need volunteers from 11am – 4 pm. at The Broadgreen Community Centre, Salisbury St, Swindon SN1 2AN….

Bring the family to float a boat for Gaza, send a postcard to Gaza, or play ring toss, ball toss, or knock down alley, knocking down injustice one throw at a time! There will be food, Palestinian embroidery, Arabic calligraphy, face painting, and henna. Have a go at tumbling the apartheid wall or on the watermelon shy! 

Funds are being raised to send Swindon Palestine Solidarity delegate Liaquth Ali as a volunteer, joining the A thousand Madleens to Gaza flotilla.

In response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the ongoing illegal siege imposed by Israel, a historical global initiative – The 1000 Flotilla: Call to break the siege – is being launched to mobilise an unprecedented international civil fleet to challenge the maritime blockade and deliver life-saving aid directly to the besieged people of Gaza.

This initiative calls upon civil society, humanitarian organisations, trade unions, faith-based movements, maritime workers and peace loving individuals from every continent to contribute ships, crews, medical supplies, food and solidarity.

The aim is to assemble a thousand vessels, symbolic of the global unity and determination, to peacefully defy the blockade and demand an immediate end to the collective punishment of over two million Palestinians.

Liaquth Ali said, “I’ve decided to join the flotilla because I believe this could be Gaza’s last chance at survival. If we don’t act boldly and urgently, the suffering will only spread, and the West Bank could be next. I can’t sit back while children are bombed and starved, but I’ve also seen hope, our Swindon community and people across the UK rising with courage and solidarity. The world is waking up. Now is the time for action. Every bit of support matters.”

A recent protest by Doctors Against Genocide said, “We are living through a catastrophe unlike any in history. 90% of Gaza’s population has now reached stage 5 malnutrition, the most severe and deadly level. At this stage many cannot be saved.”

Lynn Boylan Member of the European Parliament said “For me, the deep frustration is that the EU has had ample opportunity to do the right thing and they have failed to do that. They have failed to take a single action against Israel. They have a list of actions that they could do, and they are not doing a single one. I hope that they witness, through this flotilla, through the people power, through the mobilisation of people on the streets, that they are on the wrong side of history. They should implement every single item on that list: no trade with Israel, a two way arms embargo, sanctions on the Israeli government, and upholding the ICC arrest warrants.“

To support this cause and help send the Swindon Palestine Solidarity delegate from Swindon, please join Swindon Palestine Solidarity at the fete. If you would like to volunteer on the day, or have any questions, please contact Swindon Palestine Solidarity on Facebook, Insta @swindonpalestinesolidarity or email info@swindonpalestinesolidarity.org

Swindon Palestine Solidarity Upcoming Events

Swindon Palestine Solidarity continues to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and for aid to be allowed to enter Gaza…..

Their three recent roadside sign actions generated a lot of positive responses. It’s an effective way to keep people talking about what is happening in Gaza and these actions will be one of the many ways that SPS will continue to campaign.

On Thursday 12th June from 6 – 9pm, people can join us for Stitched in Solidarity, a free sewing workshop at the Bangladesh Centre, County Road, SN1 2EW. Participants can stitch a leaf with their messages of solidarity, or just add their name. The leaves will be added to the large olive tree on the banner, which will be used in protests and public exhibitions. This is a great way for people to add their voices, especially for those who can’t attend protests, but want to be a part of the movement. A free place can be reserved on Eventbrite – Stitched in Solidarity or by emailing info@swindonpalestinesolidarity.org

SPS has called for a local march in Swindon on Saturday 14th June at 1.30pm starting at Regent Circus. 

A spokesperson said, ‘The narrative from politicians and journalists is shifting. It’s really important to keep up the pressure and to let them know that we want the people of Gaza to have the food, water, shelter and medical aid that they need. Thousands of them are in immediate danger of starving to death. We demand a ceasefire. Our government should not be sending arms. We previously had 1000 people protesting in Swindon and want the next local protest to be even bigger. We are being joined by members of the local mosques, so let’s show our solidarity with the Palestinian people.’

A coach has been booked to take supporters to the next London protest on 21st June. Leaving Swindon at 8am, and returning at approximately 7.30pm. 

The spokesperson said ‘There were over 500,000 people at the last national protest for Palestine in London. It was noticeable that directly after that march was when the narrative about the plight of the Palestinians started to change. The next London march needs to be even bigger.’ 

To reserve a seat on the coach, go to Eventbrite – SPS Coach to national protest 21 June from Swindon – or email info@swindonpalestinesolidarity.org  There is a charge of £13.70 per person, but people can donate more to help cover the subsidised seats. Please contact Swindon Palestine Solidarity if you want to come but can’t afford a seat.

‘We know there is a lot of support for Palestine in Swindon. Hundreds of people have honked their horns and put their thumbs up during our roadside actions. If you aren’t already involved in anything to show support for the people of Palestine, why not come along to a march, either locally or nationally. If marching isn’t for you, you can join the stitching event or a roadside sign action, follow us on social media, join our WhatsApp groups, help fundraise or organise, come to a film night or talk. You can see, sign and share articles, petitions and actions. It all puts the pressure on for the positive changes so many of us want to see. Our charity quiz and meal last week raised over £900 for GINA (Gaza Infant Nutrition Alliance) which works to establish a continuous milk supply and education for breastfeeding support where it is most needed. Starving mothers are struggling to keep their newborn babies alive. There are so many ways to get involved, we urge everyone to ‘DO SOMETHING!’ 

More information about Swindon Palestine Solidarity

Swindon Families to Unite in Memory of Innocent Children Killed in Conflict

A group of local women and their families are gathering together to lay a huge installation of children’s clothes outside the office of Justin Tomlinson MP this month.…

The peaceful installation, which will be open to the public on Saturday 11th May, aims to visualise the catastrophic extent of the killing in Gaza, with a particular focus on the innocent children who’ve lost their lives. Each item of clothing will represent one of the precious lives of all the children killed since October 7th in the Israel-Gaza conflict – now over 15,500 Palestinian children and 36 Israeli children.

The organisers, made up mostly of women, are from many different races, religions and backgrounds, unified in their heartbreak of the loss of life in the Gaza-Israel conflict. They are calling on other compassionate locals to come and take part in what they hope to be a hugely impactful event.

Theresa, a spokeswoman from the group said, ‘We realise that it is almost impossible to visualise the number of child deaths in this conflict, so this memorial is about helping people get to grips with the scale of what is going on.  We also want to make it clear to Justin Tomlinson – who previously voted against a ceasefire – that just like 76%* of UK residents (*YouGov.co.uk), the vast majority of his constituents are calling for a meaningful ceasefire in Gaza and we need him to represent our voices.’

The installation will be placed outside Tomlinson’s North Swindon office at the Orbital Shopping Centre from 10am-10pm, ending with a candlelit vigil, on Saturday 11th May with full permission from the Orbital Management Team and with all clothes being donated to charity after the event.

Theresa continues, ‘This will be a peaceful, family-friendly memorial and we hope that our community will come and support us. We will need lots of people to achieve this, including the tidy up on Sunday 12th May. Everyone is welcome, so please do come along with any unwanted children’s clothing to add to the installation, or simply stop by and join us in a moment of reflection and solidarity.’

For further information on how to get involved or to volunteer, please check out the Facebook event on Swindon Palestine Solidarity page or email clothesmemorial@icloud.com 

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Conceived on International Women’s Day and announced on Mother’s Day; Palestinian Children Memorial in Swindon

On International Women’s Day a group of women from the Swindon community decided to organise a clothes memorial for the over 11,500 Palestinian children killed by Israel since October 7th when 36 Israeli children were killed.…

Theresa, a spokeswoman from the group said “All children are innocent. No mother should have to witness the death of their child. Children in Gaza are now starving to death and their parents can do nothing to stop this slow and painful death. It must be horrific to watch your child wasting away.”

“We are women of different religions and none, from different races and backgrounds, coming together to extend our solidarity and love to the mothers of Gaza. We are mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts, all heartbroken by the loss of life in the Gaza Israel conflict.”

“We realise that it is almost impossible to imagine the scale of child deaths, so our memorial will enable people to see what that looks like and hopefully encourage them to join us in calling for a ceasefire.”

On Saturday 27th April from 10am-4pm the group plan to lay as near to 11,000 sets of children’s clothing around the office of Justin Tomlinson MP, who voted against calling for a ceasefire. They want to make it clear that 76% of UK residents want a ceasefire in Gaza. “We’ve seen demonstrations outside Robert Buckland MP’s office. He didn’t vote at all on the motion calling for a ceasefire. We want to pressurise our political representatives to represent many their residents by calling for a ceasefire.”

“We will leave the memorial in place until the next day to give people the opportunity to see it or add to it. The clothes will all go to charity and not be wasted.”

Over the next seven weeks the group will be collecting clothes and will announce collection points to drop them off. They are looking for venues who are happy to receive clothes and for volunteers to pick up clothes, deliver them to the event on the day and help lay out the clothes.

The spokeswoman said “The clothes will be laid in a line from Justin’s office along the path in front of ASDA and M&S going in the other direction. This is a peaceful and emotive memorial for the lost children which cannot be spun as a ‘hate march’ or organised by ‘Islamist extremists. We hope that this will also attract people who don’t want or can’t march but who empathise with the families and friends of these children. We will need lots of people to achieve this, including the tidy up on Sunday 28th April. Perhaps families going shopping will stop by on the day with some clothes and reflect on this terrible loss of life. Everyone is welcome. We will announce collection points soon. We’d like to thank Swindon Palestine Solidarity for letting us use their social media platforms to share this women led community event.”

For further information on how to get involved please check out our Facebook event on Swindon Palestine Solidarity page https://fb.me/e/gxWlVcdki or look out for local press updates.

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Swindon Palestine Solidarity Hold Charity Dinner

On Saturday, people from across Swindon came to Swindon Palestine Solidarity’s charity dinner to raise funds for Medical Aid Palestine and raise awareness of the reality of life in Gaza……

Over 150 guests and 30 volunteers listened, often with tears in their eyes, as the guest speaker, Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq explained how over 21 of his family members have been killed in Gaza in the recent bombardments. Ahmed came with his new bride, who has also lost many family members and friends.

 Ahmed is the co- founder of an organisation set up in 2015 to provide English-language writing workshops for young Palestinians in Gaza, called We Are Not Numbers. He told how during the Israeli military attack against Palestinians in the summer of 2014, his 23-year-old brother, Ayman, was killed by an Israeli missile while simply walking on the street near his home in Dir-Al-Balah.

Ahmed sunk into depression from which he thought he would never return to normal life again.During this time, he met Pam Bailey, who encouraged him to write his story. The death of his brother and his friends was reported in the media as six Palestinians killed but didn’t use their names. Ahmed wanted his brother to be named and remembered, as well as all the other victims of the Israeli attacks. From there, We Are Not Numbers was formed to share the stories of young Palestinians in Gaza. Over 350 writers now contribute to We Are Not Numbers.

People from the Swindon community, young and old, from varied religions and none, and many different races, came to listen to his story, join in solidarity with the people of Gaza and raise money and awareness.

Swindon Palestine Solidarity are extremely grateful for the generosity of local businesses and individuals who contributed food, decorations, time, and money. Thanks goes to Biblop, Ruchi, Jully, DuDuzo Kitchen,Lalbagh, Pizza and Co, Tandoori Nights, Shupe, Grand Bazaar, The Jewel in the Crown, Kaspars, members of theTurkish and Muslim communities. With their help, the event has raised over £3,000.

Ahmed said, ‘I just wanted to say that I was very, very pleased to have joined you in Swindon. To have joined my friends and family, the freedom lovers and supporters of Palestine in Swindon. It was very lovely to meet all of you, people of all faiths and colours, and people are Muslim, Christian, Jews and of non-faiths. We shared the same values that we all agree on, the freedom of freedom and sympathy of the oppressed with the struggle against the oppressor and I felt like home, I felt like I was surrounded by family. The event was very powerful and the spirit of the people I found there was very high and motivating and it gave me a lot of hope because as someone who has lost all his family members I feel like these people who support Palestine and solidarity with Palestine are now my family, are of my people. And it gives me hope that as long as we have people like you who have continued to participate in events and protests for Palestine, believe that Palestine eventually will be free.’

This really was a great community event. Swindon Palestine Solidarity will continue to organise events, rallies, film shows, fundraisers, and marches in Swindon, as well as encouraging as many people as possible to attend the national demonstrations in London.

They invite people to join them for the next local march on Sunday 11th February at 12pm at Regents Circus, Swindon, and the next national march in London on 17th February.