The South Coast Labour Council and Illawarra Women’s Health Centre at a breakfast in support of women in Palestine and Gaza. Photo: Keeli Royle.
My middle child, my only daughter, is looking beautiful in the black dress I bought her. She’s wearing her grandmother’s shawl and a necklace with a map of historic Palestine.
She is graduating from primary school. She’s been dancing with her friends, dancing away her childhood and moving towards the teenage years. I am filled with pride. I am about to witness her graduate Year 6. That pride comes with sadness.
One of the mums, asks me, “What is wrong with you?”. Not wanting to upset her I replied … “Nothing”. But I could not lie.
My daughter is celebrating entering her teenage years in an environment that fosters growth, enablement and continued learning.
But for her cousin, a similar age – a photograph would pass them as siblings – there is no headline, nor celebratory dance, there is not even a headstone.
Her cousin lived in a place that gets plenty of headlines but not much relief – Gaza.
He had the same passion, the same zest for life and the same thirst for knowledge that she does. But in the middle of October 2024, all that for him ended. That beautiful young boy had his life cut short while he was in a tent trying to learn. An Israeli missile fell on him.
While she was graduating all I could think about was his dad, my cousin Mohammed. He never gets to see his son graduate. He doesn’t get to see his son turn into a teenager. He doesn’t get to see him leave high school or go to university. He will never get married and have his own wife and children.
While parents argue about who is right and who is wrong, we keep losing children. Since then, we have seen a ceasefire deal brokered, Trump taking office and then he and Netanyahu announcing they plan the complete annexation of the Gaza Strip and turn it into the Riviera of the Middle East.
While many around the world may see this as a ludicrous idea, the two billionaires congratulated themselves at their blatant disregard for the international rules-based order and their plan for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people off their ancestral homes.
When there was a feeling of hope and respite for the Palestinians of Gaza, this feeling has turned into one of defiance and anger. You see Israel was not able to displace the 2.3 million residents of Gaza; yes, many were killed but most people returned to their homes when the ceasefire was called.
Locally, the Illawarra community has been very generous in the past with many different causes being championed and has proven itself to be progressive and welcoming to those in need. This cause should be no exception.
There have been fundraisers and awareness raising activities in the Illawarra that have enabled not only charitable donations but also awareness to the wider community.
We live in difficult geopolitical times. There is a proliferation of wars around the globe. Not to mention the cost of living and a housing crisis.
However, we still have a bed to sleep on and schools for our children to attend every day. In those schools that my children attend, do we want them to learn about mathematics and chemistry? Of course, but we also want them to learn about social justice and issues that affect not only them but people around the world.
What can you do to help?
Attend a rally, or if that isn’t your thing, write or call your local federal member; let them know that you don’t want your tax dollars funding these ongoing senseless wars.
Bisalloy, a local steel manufacturer only employs 200 people, yet a customer is the Israeli Defence Company, Rafael.
Steel is in demand in many countries that are not waging a war on children, but only public opinion and shaming them will force them to change their ways.
So we will continue to turn up and demand that our elected members represent the people.
Mothers in Gaza and all over the world should not have to mourn their children. Children deserve the right to grow up. They deserve the right to go to school safely and come home.
Regardless of where you stand on this “issue”, seeing children killed on our screens should horrify us. Palestinian children should be no exception.
So, as I wave my daughter into teen years from childhood, please remember many of those who are not being afforded the same privilege.
These children did not vote for Hamas nor Benjamin Netanyahu. These children are just that, innocent children living under the most horrific of circumstances and deserve our community to be their voice.
Safaa has continued to tirelessly share her family’s story. She most recently appeared alongside UN Human Rights Council Commissioner Chris Sidoti at the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre forum, More Than a Human Can Bear, an Illawarra gathering for Palestinian women, held on 7 May.
