'Behind the statistics of Gaza are real people, with hopes and dreams like you and me'

A march and rally took place in Letterkenny, in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

The newest branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign has been established in Donegal this month and with the Trade Union Friends of Palestine, made their way from St Conal's Hospital to An Grianan Theatre.

Those who took part, in the region of 400 people, waved Palestine flags, blew whistles and carried banners about the genocide taking place in Gaza. Eyad Meshael, a Palestinian from Letterkenny, led the march down De Valera Hill.

Palestinian officials said on Friday that 11,078 Gaza residents had been killed in air and artillery strikes from Israel in response to an attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.

Palestinians and their supporters, though, have made continual reference to their inhumane treatment since the state of Israel was founded in 1948. The Nakba, known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, was the displacement of a majority of the Palestinian Arabs since then.

Fadl Mustapha, who has lived in Letterkenny for 19 years, is a third-generation refugee of Palestine, said: “Every child killed in Gaza today would be alive if we had a ceasefire yesterday. How high does the pile of bodies have to get? At this stage, you’re either pro-humanity or pro-genocide.

“If the least thing you can do is to come out and stand with us in solidarity, then do it. There is no room for racism, discrimination, anti-semitism and hate in our movement. This is a noble cause, a just cause and a right cause. A time will come when your children and grandchildren will ask ‘what did you do?’ You can tell them we couldn’t do much, but we did our best. We stood on the right side of history.”

A'alya Mustafa, Fadl’s eldest daughter, then shared her story. She said: “I am half-Irish and half-Palestinian. My Irish half owns an Irish passport, granting me the privilege of visiting my maternal grandparents whenever I wish. On the other hand, the Palestinian half means a refugee card, denying me freedom. My great-grandparents and grandparents were forced out of their home in 1948, so I’m a fourth-generation Palestinian refugee. They have never been able to return. I have never been to their hometown. It has been claimed by Israeli colonisers.

“The last month has been challenging, to say the least, as a Palestinian, and more importantly, as a human being with a heart. It has been a month of unprecedented and intensified ethnic cleansing and outright genocide. The images are ingrained in my mind. I am lucky to only be witnessing this through a screen. I can turn off my phone. I cannot even begin to fathom what it must be like to live in Gaza right now.

“The conditions are unimaginable. Gaza has been under relentless attacks. Continuous airstrikes have left a catastrophic trail of destruction. Every basic service is either not functioning or overwhelmed - homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, stores, and bakeries, have been reduced to rubble.

“Gaza is only receiving 2 per cent of its usual aid because of the almost complete blockade by Israel. Food and medical supplies cannot get in and water and electricity supplies have been cut. Children are living under these conditions. Over 11,000 people have been killed, of which 4,500 are children, and 27,000 are injured.

“There are over 2,400 detainees and these statistics are only since October 7. If I were to list those from the last 75 years of the illegal occupation then I would be here all day. Behind these statistics are real people, families and children, with hopes and dreams like you and me.

“They deserve a future free from fear, violence and despair. It is our moral responsibility to stand together in solidarity and demand peace and justice for the people of Palestine. I struggle to understand how people rationalise genocide. We must have hope for the people of Palestine.”

Kathryn Daily, a US Army Veteran, was also in attendance, saying that it is regretful that people have become normalised to dehumanising.

“We are haunted by history,” she said. “I have cousins at home, who don’t think I belong as an American any more. Since I left the military in 1995, I have been an activist. I have been very sad watching on lately. People are now challenging the mythology we have all been taught.

“We were taught mythology based on lies. I’m glad so many people not buying it, like the 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who has been at the White House every day this week protesting against what is happening in Gaza. ’Never again’ means for everyone.”

Trade Friends of Palestine national chair, Richy Carrothers, said: “I have seen first hand the oppression of the Palestine people and what apartheid and ethnic cleansing does. They are essentially second-class citizens in their own country.

“Palestinian children are tried in military courts, where illegal settlers who carry guns and kill children are tried in civil courts. The illegal settlers have more rights than the indigenous people. The world is silent. The world sits on its hands.

“The slaughter, oppression and illegal occupation must end. [Isreali Prime Minster] Benjamin Netanyahu leads the most rightwing Israeli government ever - a man responsible for war crimes, who starves people, who cuts off supplies and a man who bombs schools, mosques and hospitals. He should be in front of the The Hague for international war crimes.”

Majela Alaskarri, originally from Gaza, who has lost countless family members, said life was “unbearable”.

“The last time I was in Gaza was 2003," she said. "We are the people who must make the government listen. They want more power, more money and we are the victims. People can do something and be active and useful. It should not be about politics now. ”

Josephine Hajjaj, who is from Gortahork and married to a gentleman from Gaza and living in Letterkenny, showed the connection between Palestine and Donegal is real.

“The people here have touched us,” she said. “Most of my husband’s family are in Gaza. Their people have been through so much but this time, when we saw the severity of it, we just couldn’t comprehend it. It’s unbelievable that such genocide can take place in front of our eyes.

“We have two children and they are half-Palestinian, a people who are the most proud, strong, resilient, kind-hearted and selfless people. I’m so proud I am part of that.”