Canadians Demand
End to Israel's Siege of Gaza
26/01/08; by Diane V. McLoughlin
Here are a couple of pictures from the
protest held the evening of January 26,
2008, at the Canadian Human Rights
Monument at Ottawa City Hall; a protest
demanding the end to the siege of Gaza.
It was like standing in a freezer.
Yet, people came - I would guess maybe a
hundred souls braved the cold. I
had learned of the protest through an e-mail
from a friend who was going.
End to Israel's Siege of Gaza
26/01/08; by Diane V. McLoughlin
Here are a couple of pictures from the
protest held the evening of January 26,
2008, at the Canadian Human Rights
Monument at Ottawa City Hall; a protest
demanding the end to the siege of Gaza.
It was like standing in a freezer.
Yet, people came - I would guess maybe a
hundred souls braved the cold. I
had learned of the protest through an e-mail
from a friend who was going.
I heard Arabic accents, French accents, and regular ol' Canadian English in the crowd.
It was a candle-lit vigil. But you could see that quite a few did not have gloves or mitts
and couldn't hold candles because they're hands were shoved deep in coat pockets.
Besides candles a shy young woman was politely handing out little paper Palestinian flags.
Flags were stuck in front of coats, in the tops of hats, and hung from pockets and purses.
Through a megaphone, one speaker shared with the crowd that Canada was the only country
to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning Israel's continued blockade of Gaza.
"Shame!", was shouted out by some in the crowd.
Another speaker, a middle-aged white woman with short grey hair, spoke clearly and
with conviction. Without directly quoting her, this is what she said:
What has happened? Now that so many, 350,000 desperate Palestinians,
have got out of Gaza? This is what she demanded to know. What are they doing?
Are they suicide bombing? Are they attacking anybody? No. And the crowd laughed
as she provided her own answer: They went shopping. They have been busy trying to
get their hands on desperately needed supplies to buy, supplies such as food and medicine
and cement, the most basic of essential supplies that have been blocked under the Israeli siege.
One little group of young people had come with their own well-made banner that
made their position clear: NOT IN OUR NAME. JEWS OPPOSE ISRAEL'S WARS;
with an e-mail and NION website address along the bottom edge. I was very proud of them.
I was glad they were there.
And I was glad to be there; glad to be there with my son.
This was the first protest I have ever been to in my life. The first for my tall, soft-spoken son.
He did not have gloves or a hat. I feared he would get frostbite. But I could not get him to give up
holding his candle for Gaza for a moment, to warm his frozen hands.
It was a candle-lit vigil. But you could see that quite a few did not have gloves or mitts
and couldn't hold candles because they're hands were shoved deep in coat pockets.
Besides candles a shy young woman was politely handing out little paper Palestinian flags.
Flags were stuck in front of coats, in the tops of hats, and hung from pockets and purses.
Through a megaphone, one speaker shared with the crowd that Canada was the only country
to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning Israel's continued blockade of Gaza.
"Shame!", was shouted out by some in the crowd.
Another speaker, a middle-aged white woman with short grey hair, spoke clearly and
with conviction. Without directly quoting her, this is what she said:
What has happened? Now that so many, 350,000 desperate Palestinians,
have got out of Gaza? This is what she demanded to know. What are they doing?
Are they suicide bombing? Are they attacking anybody? No. And the crowd laughed
as she provided her own answer: They went shopping. They have been busy trying to
get their hands on desperately needed supplies to buy, supplies such as food and medicine
and cement, the most basic of essential supplies that have been blocked under the Israeli siege.
One little group of young people had come with their own well-made banner that
made their position clear: NOT IN OUR NAME. JEWS OPPOSE ISRAEL'S WARS;
with an e-mail and NION website address along the bottom edge. I was very proud of them.
I was glad they were there.
And I was glad to be there; glad to be there with my son.
This was the first protest I have ever been to in my life. The first for my tall, soft-spoken son.
He did not have gloves or a hat. I feared he would get frostbite. But I could not get him to give up
holding his candle for Gaza for a moment, to warm his frozen hands.
Photo: R. Nazzal |
