I grew up witnessing the Palestinians refugees’ life in their camps in Damascus and their struggle then being from Syria, a country that was torn apart. It is so hard to explain to people who have never witnessed war or lived under a tyrant how it feels. For that I do appreciate you and your friends from my heart for humanity and humility to stand up for injustice.
Najiba, attending the event.
On Sunday 24th February, a crowd of people gathered outside Bristol Cathedral to sing and write on banners the names of thousands of children killed in Gaza. In a bracing wind, people of all ages knelt down, writing in coloured pen on long banners stretched out on the paving stones. A choir sang Greek and Georgian laments and led the crowd in singing We Shall Overcome.
After 2 hours of writing, nearly 100 metres of roofing membrane had been covered with over 5,000 names. People were cold and emotional but continued to ask for more sheets of names to copy onto the banners laid out on the ground. Some people took on the task of sitting on the ends as we ran out of weights to stop the wind from lifting the sheets.
5,000 names is less than half of those whose names have so far been released, and a fraction of the total believed to have been killed. There will be a second session on Saturday 24th February, where members of the public will again be encouraged to add to the names already written. A small group of walkers will then carry the names to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, responsible for many of the weapons currently being used to massacre Palestinians.
Katie, one of the members of Naming the Dead, said
“We want to continue writing the names onto these banners as a mark of respect to the tens of thousands killed. When the numbers are so large, it’s easy to be shocked by the magnitude, but harder to connect with the individual tragedy behind each one. The act of writing the names of those killed in the massacre appeared to help make that connection, and affected people deeply.
This genocide is supported by our politicians, our arms factories, and much of our media. We intend to carry these names to those responsible. They need to feel the connection between their terrible actions and the human beings they have helped to kill. We will start with Elbit Systems, as they provide the weapons for Israel’s war machine”
Notes for Editors:
- Further details on forthcoming sessions and processions will be released in the next few days. Please see BPA’s website or FB page for updates.
- Naming the Dead is a Bristol-based group formed to honour, individually, those killed in the recent Gaza conflict.
- The Hands Up Project is a charity trust which connects children around the world with young people in Palestine https://www.handsupproject.org/
- The latest figures for those injured or killed in Gaza are:
- Killed: at least 28,775 people, of which more than 12,300 were children and 8,400 were women
- Injured: more than 68,552, of which more than 8,663 were children and 6,327 were women
- Missing: more than 7,000
Figures from Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker
- Less than half of the names of those killed have so far been released. The list we have been using is based on the Gaza Ministry of Health figures
- Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms company, and has two offices in Bristol. The newest is a manufacturing hub, where weapons parts known to be used by the Israeli armed forces are manufactured. https://www.adsadvance.co.uk/elbit-systems-uk-opens-horizon-facility-in-bristol.html
Contact for further details: