A rally at Free Derry Corner organised by Derry IPSC has called on global leaders to 'stop arming the genocide'.
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00:00So look at that, that's that. So I'm going to introduce our first speaker.
00:03So our first speaker is Becca, Becca Bohr, who represents Jews for Palestine, Ireland.
00:17It's been over six months, six months of watching parents grieve, six months of watching
00:26shells shocked and traumatized children shaken, being bombed as they're playing in playgrounds,
00:34walking on the streets, in their schools, in their homes, in their beds asleep.
00:40It's been six months of every day looking at our phones and seeing journalists targeted
00:47for telling the truth, six months of watching medics try to save lives, do the impossible
00:57with nothing, no ability whatsoever to heal as they're getting targeted, their families
01:06getting targeted, their patients getting targeted, their hospitals getting targeted,
01:10and no supplies getting in. It's been over six months that we have watched the ethnic cleansing
01:18unfold before our eyes, the genocides unfold before our eyes, and this six months we have
01:25seen settlers on a rampage in the West Bank, annexing more land and terrorizing more Palestinians.
01:33Six months, day in, day out, bombs, more bombs, snipers, no aid getting in, starvation,
01:45mothers unable to produce milk to breastfeed their newborns, forced starvation, day in, day out.
01:56I mean I think like the past six months we've been horrified and absolutely just
02:04devastated by what's, you know, the genocide in Gaza and the, you know, the fact that we feel
02:10like we've been out here and we've been boycotting and we've been protesting, we've been raising our
02:14voices and yet our politicians here haven't even done enough. There have been platitudes but there
02:20hasn't been enough action so a mixture of absolute sadness but also resolve and a bit of
02:27anger as well around, you know, the type of priorities of our system here. The commons in
02:33Westminster and look across me and listen to Rishi Sunak's crocodile tears about the innocents
02:40being slaughtered in Gaza or when I read about the leaks from the White House that Joe Biden's
02:47a bit cross with Netanyahu because of what's happening in Gaza. It frankly makes me sick to
02:54my stomach but it also makes me very proud to be from Derry because this is a place that understands
03:01solidarity, this is a place that will see straight through those crocodile tears and is saying very
03:08loudly today you can talk all you want about more aid getting into Gaza, you can talk all you want
03:16about the IDF being a bit more careful about where they drop those bombs but you can't do that when
03:22you're sending the weapons of war from Britain and from America just to be used to kill innocent
03:29children, to kill innocent women, to kill journalists and to destroy any chance of a decent
03:36standard of life for Palestinians for generations to come. Well look all I can say is what we're
03:43doing and we're very clear if you want to be supportive and standing in solidarity with the
03:49Palestinian people you shouldn't be going and drinking and having canapes in the White House
03:55at a party and that's why I didn't go. Other people made their own choice but I was very clear that you
04:00can't in this moment of genocide that's being supported by the White House, supported by the
04:04British government, you can't be going and partying and pretending everything's okay.
04:09Other people have to defend their own actions. What does seeing all people out here giving such
04:14a great support to Palestine, how does that make you feel about your people at your home town?
04:20Well as I said in the speech I mean I have to listen to Rishi Sunak every week crying crocodile
04:26tears for innocent civilians in Gaza but at the same time sending weapons of war to support the
04:31Israeli forces but when I come home I get to see, I get to be very proud of the solidarity that this
04:37city shows for the down-trodden Palestinian people and this is a city that knows an awful
04:42lot about solidarity and it's just great to see people coming out again six months later frustrated
04:47almost hopeless but still resolute to try to do what we can to stop this slur. I remember Gary there
04:54and Garethi my partner and Sean Heaton and others among us from Derry sitting in a Palestinian
05:00refugee camp talking to people who have been there for three generations and he still said to us we
05:06will see Jerusalem again, we will go home. It is a shame in the face of the world that the
05:12Palestinian people are still far from home. One of our purposes now sort of in 2024 after all these
05:23years one of our purposes has to be to help the Palestinian people back home back to Palestine
05:30and to see a free Palestine emerge again and I remind you of people say I saw on television last
05:36night some idiots arguing that the Palestinian solidarity movement is anti-semitic. No it is not
05:43it is not anti-semitic to demand democratic rights for anyone anywhere on earth.
05:51So my name's Bronagh McMunnigle and I am a member of the Derry Branch for Ireland
05:55Palestine Solidarity Campaign also known as IPSC. So today we're organizing a massive march
06:01for in solidarity with Palestine for the anniversary of the Nakba Day for 1948 and that's
06:07going to be in a few weeks time. So we wanted to pull together a rally today just to kind of give
06:12people something to come out and support because people are kind of saying on the ground if they
06:15want to do something they kind of support the Palestinian people and the genocide that's
06:19happening right now. So that's what today's rally was about and just kind of raising awareness
06:24and trying to get new people on board and just keeping the story out there particularly
06:28because of the whole issue of where we're at. People seem to have taken their eye away from
06:33Gaza so it's about bringing it back again because it's still ongoing. You've had a really good great
06:38turnout today and some really great speaking. Can you give me a comment about the turnout and some
06:43of your speakers? Well I suppose I'm not sure if you heard yourself but we've had a range of
06:49speakers. We try to we tend to try and make it as varied as we possibly can including political
06:54speakers but also activist speakers as well. But today for me what really stood out was Majita
07:01and Alaskari spoke, read out messages from Palestinian children who are currently living
07:07in the middle of Rafah and they're mostly orphaned now as a result of their strengths
07:12from their parents. So that really, I mean I chaired the event and I couldn't really speak
07:18even afterwards. It was a strong movement so that was probably the biggest thing for me.
07:29Hello Ireland people. My name is Nisreen. I lost both of my parents. I'm the youngest sister
07:38for the three boys. My little brother he's sick, he's really sick but I know I will have hope with
07:48your prayer for him to heal. And with your support and if you hear my message today
07:58please pray for me and don't forget ever speak about Palestinian people.
08:04I sit every day with my children
08:12in my tent and we play school and we educate each other about Palestine.
08:18What it was and what it will be. For us our dream just to have a speech.
08:28Our dream to have a peace and stop their blame just have a noise above our head.
08:35My little brother he never can sleep until I give him my mother's card.
08:47My dream every day that my bus Gaza to come as it is in the future.
08:58I send my message today for peace for love
09:02and for future for everyone. Please don't stop talk about us.
09:10The other message it is from two siblings Omar and Ahmed. They also
09:17lost their mother and they don't know anything about their father since six months.
09:22We came here with our neighbor from the north of Gaza.
09:31We are now 25 children with people we don't know and we don't meet before but we are playing every
09:40day as a soldier, as a doctor and security of each other. We learn a lot from the doctors
09:50because sometimes we go to the hospital to help the doctors to give them supplies,
09:56to give them some medicine, some water and sometimes we just play in advance to make
10:04the fever of the patient less. Our heart always to pray for peace but do you know how much
10:14I pray every day for peace? I cry every day and I don't have food since five days. I have a small
10:24piece of bread who have I shared with my brother but I'm really hungry. I'm really in pain. I really
10:32miss my parents but please if any one of you hear something about my parents please let us know.