Demo Speech - May 30th
And here we are again
I am sure, like me, you are all grateful to be gathered again amongst friends, it is getting harder, almost by the day, to stand up for what we believe, but we are here so – thank you.
Rather than make any great speech I have been invited to read a little poetry – a couple from our own book (copies of which we still have available to buy).
One or maybe two from a poet, activist and professor of computer science at Edinburgh Heriot-Watt University who I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago, and then one of my own that was written recently.
Not that we need a reminder of why we’re here but I listened to a post this week by Nadia Sawalha on behalf of a charity called Children Not Numbers – in it she said;
“If we held a funeral each day for every CHILD slaughtered in Palestine in the last two and half years we would attend a funeral for at least 52 years – EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR 52 years. – (she goes on to say) What I find fascinating are the trolls who call me deranged for making videos like this because what they don’t understand is it is actually them that are deranged because they have no soul. If that doesn’t touch you, a funeral every day for over 52 years, doesn’t break your heart, then you have no soul”.
there are no more olive trees in Gaza
there are no more olive trees in Gaza
there they stood and for generations,
our mothers’ mothers’ mothers tended them,
implanted in all our histories,
tied to this holy land where they belong.
signposts of living permanence,
memories, sacred, secure and strong.
then monsters with guns and bulldozers came
claimed a god was on their side,
ripped them from the ground,
as if their god grew different trees,
ours were not fit to survive.
no fruit remains to feed the doves,
nor branches left to offer,
they replaced the olive trees
with concrete walls and security posts,
their hatred and barbed wire
In memory of Rachel Corrie
Who was murdered March 16 2003
Silent Child
Silent child
I am the silent child who stands on their own
I am the silent child removed from my home
I am the silent child whose time will not come
I am the silent child who will never belong
I am the silent child with nowhere to hide
I am the silent child, who’s on my side?
I am the silent child shattered by fears
I am the silent child who cannot shed tears
I am the silent child, you don’t ask my name
I am the silent child, we’re all much the same
I am the silent child on my first day at school
I am the silent child being taught life is cruel
I am the silent child who cannot sing songs
I am the silent child who only hears bombs
I am the silent child left out in the cold
I am the silent child with no hand to hold
I am the silent child afraid and alone
I am the silent child my hopes are unknown
I am the silent child whose cries are ignored
I am the silent child, dreams all destroyed
I am the silent child my toys are blood stained
I am the silent child, butchered and maimed
I am the silent child lying here in the dust
I am the silent child with no-one to trust
I am the silent child, my history denied
Hopelessly waiting for you to decide.
I am the silent child without any choice
I am the silent child, you have stolen my voice
I am the silent child, I plead with my eyes
I am the silent child, can I please ask you why?
I am the silenced child, you left me to die.
A poem was then read by Ruth Aylett from her collection Shouting In The Tunnel – Eyeless
And a recent one of my own based on meeting two young Palestinians in Dublin airport who approached me and asked me why I was wearing my keffiyeh. This was our brief exchange.
Terminal 1 – Sunday 1st February 2026, Dublin to Jerusalem
Dublin – waiting to depart for home.
Approached by two young women,
“Excuse us sir, may we ask,
Why do you wear a keffiyeh?”
“Oh, it’s my symbol of support for
The people of Palestine.”
“That’s what we hoped,
It makes us very happy to see,
To know that we are not forgotten”
“Please accept this gift from us
To say thank you. May we ask,
When we are free, will you come
And visit our home and our families?”
I reached out to embrace them,
But immediately withdrew;
For fear of causing offence.
Instead, gripped the scarf in my fist
And touched it to my chest.
“Of course, of course,”
And, accepting the gift,
“Thank you, I will pray for that day”
“Sir, may we take a selfie with you?”
And all I had to offer in exchange was
my hope,
my promise,
my love.
“Safe travels,” I said,
as they walked away
“As-salamu alaykum”
They turned and smiled,
It was enough.
Another poem read, Making nothing happen by Ruth Aylett from the same collection – Shouting In The Tunnel
I said at the start that it is getting harder by the day to stand up for what we believe but as those last words by Ruth say “remembering, repeating is down to us” and those young people I met in Dublin taught me that even the small gestures we make do make a difference, they do matter. Whatever action we take in support of Palestine; attend meetings like this, join marches, lobby our so-called politicians, rant on social media or simply, gently correct someone else’s understanding – every small thing contributes to the greater voice.
I want to close with some of the words of Juliet Lamont one of the very brave members of the Global Sumud Flotilla who have just returned with horrific stories of torture and violence against them.
“I’ve looked into the eyes of the most soulless people in the universe and nothing came back. Nothing came back. These people need to be stopped. The serial killing genocidal Zionist regime of Israell absolutely needs to be dismantled”
Those are her words – here are mine
Zionism is not to be debated it is to be condemned
Zionism is not to be negotiated with it is to be destroyed
Difficult though it might be, please do not lose faith, and continue to do what you can, remember you are on
the right side of history,
the right side of justice
and the right side of humanity
Peace be upon you
As-salamu alaykum
From the river to the sea
The content of this blog is written by multiple contributors. Any views or opinions expressed in individual posts are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of the group as a whole.
