Parents and grandparents of Cardiff gathered in front of the Cardiff castle on monday, urging the British government to take steps to end the sufferings of the children in Gaza.
Cardiff parents and grandparents demonstrated in front of the Cardiff castle on Monday asking the British government to stop supporting Israel and find a way to end the sufferings of the children in Gaza.
The protest organized by ‘Parents of Cardiff’ is part of the continuous effort by the Stop The War UK Coalition- a joint formation of various groups trying to create public opinion against the war. ‘Parents of Cardiff’ is part of the ‘Cardiff stop the war’ group, which falls under the broader umbrella.
Frankie Finn , one of the organizers said, “I am a parent as well as a grandparent, and when I put my grandchild in bath and look at his body- all complete and chubby and clean, the sight moves me and I think about what’s happening in Gaza where the children are being shredded to pieces”.
“It just tears my heart away”, says Frankie while standing in the November rain holding a placard which says ‘44% of those killed in Gaza are kids’ and a Palestinian flag.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the ongoing conflict since October 7, 2023, has resulted in the death of over 44,000 people. The Palestinians claim that the majority of victims are women and children.
The organizers claim that along with the Palestine issue, they are also vocal for Climate action to tackle the climate change, and regularly demonstrate against other ongoing conflicts such as the Sudan and the Ukraine war.
On 28th of November ‘Stop the war-UK coalition has called for protests in the colleges and workplaces across the UK demanding the government to stop sending arms to Israel. According to the activists, the Thursday action will be the largest workplace action since the war started and Monday’s protest is a prelude to it.
“All the arms that go to Israel, is rubber stamped by the British government. Any big shipment must be rubberstamped by it. We want the government to stop rubberstamping”, says Frankie, as she waves the flag towards a passing car. Most of 30 odd demonstrators were armed with hand written placards saying ‘stop killing kids’, ‘Welsh families against killing’ among others.
“Every day my children are witnessing a world where it’s okay to kill Palestinians because they are people of color. That’s what the colonizers think. I don’t want my girls to grow up in such a world”, says Sharifa, a mother of three.
“With however small capacity I have, I’ll fight against it”, she adds.
Aysun from Turkiye thinks, “When the Israelis finish with the Palestinians they will go after Lebanon, then after Syria, Egypt and Turkiye. This madness has to be stopped”.
The war in Gaza has sparked widespread protests across the UK from the very beginning. Cities like London and Cardiff have remained in the centre stage of these movements. On October 11, protestors formed a giant red line in Washington using a red flag demanding the US administration doesn’t cross it. The red line reached Cardiff on October 14, with Cardiff stop the war organizing the protest march attended by hundreds of people.
Despite the global outrage the war in Gaza continues. So does the resistance against it. The political will to kill innocents gets countered by the resilience of people with anti war groups carrying on the resistance for well over an year.