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More than 300 unite for a protest to ‘stop starving Gaza’
“If you don’t like my shirt, just ignore it, like our government ignores the genocide”, a protester’s t-shirt read as she joined more than 300 others for a protest to “stop starving Gaza” on Friday evening.
Clattering pots and pans, chanting in unison and uniting in hundreds, Bristol joined the national day of action protest, spearheaded by Palestine Solidarity Bristol, Stop the War Coalition and others.
Among others gathered near Cascade Steps was Stroud-based American chef and influencer, Max La Manna, who went on a six-day hunger strike in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
Placards held by protesters emphasised “Children in Gaza are starving”
While addressing the crowd, Manna read a message from Palestinian flood blogger Hamada Sho, who describes the deteriorating conditions in the region.
In his message to Manna, Sho said: “We are starving. Not out of choice, not because there’s no food in the world, but because we are being starved deliberately. Children go to sleep crying from hunger, parents break down because they have nothing to feed them.
Sho, whose wife is six months pregnant, said he was “terrified” for the health of his partner and their future child. He added: “Malnutrition is hitting her hard, and there’s no medical care. No vitamins, no proper food, just fear.
“On top of that, we barely have clean water. In this scorching hot summer, dehydration is crushing. We feel dizzy, weak and helpless. This is not a siege, it’s a forced starvation.”
Photographs of children with their bones sticking out, baggy skin and protruding ribs have been flooding social media for the past few weeks, as thousands in Gaza starve in what has been called a “human catastrophe” in a joint statement by the UK, France and Germany.
On Thursday, prime minister Keir Starmer issued a statement, calling the situation in Gaza “unspeakable and indefensible”. In the same statement, he also said that statehood for the people of Palestine was their “inalienable right”.
Israel has been blamed for blocking the entry of humanitarian aid, resulting in malnutrition and the mass starvation of people. However, Israeli authorities have denied this claim, blaming Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.
The groups in Bristol will unite on Saturday afternoon for a rally intended to “defend their right to protest”.
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All photos: Rob Browne
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