Cornwall will be marching for Palestine, while a surprise guest will make an appearance in London

On Saturday 13 January, campaigners from Palestine Solidarity Cornwall (PSC) will gather in Truro to protest against the ongoing genocide the Israeli government is perpetrating against Palestinian people in Gaza. Meanwhile, the national march in London will be hosting a very special guest; one that has travelled around the world for the past few years.

Palestine solidarity in Cornwall

The Cornwall demonstration meets on Lemon Quay at 1pm, and will feature a variety of speakers, including people from the Palestinian community and representatives from local and national organisations.

Groups supporting the protest include Cornwall Resists, the Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers union, Falmouth and Penryn Welcomes Refugees, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Penzance Socialists, and Divest Borders. During recent months, hundreds of people have taken to the streets across Cornwall, with events in Penzance, Falmouth, Newquay, and Truro highlighting the atrocities Israel is committing in Gaza, and standing in solidarity with Palestinian people.

Protests have also focused on the UK government and the UK arms industry’s complicity in the war crimes taking place in Gaza.

Since 2015, the UK has licensed £472m worth of arms sales to the Israeli government. However, this figure does not include open licenses where companies can export unlimited amounts of specified goods without further accountability, Components for the F35 combat aircraft that are currently bombarding Gaza are covered under one such open license. 15% of every F35 is made by UK industry, with contracts worth £336m since 2016, according to estimates by Campaign Against Arms Trade.

‘Beyond catastrophic’

A spokesperson for PSC Cornwall stated:

The situation in Gaza is beyond catastrophic. Thousands of people have died, including thousands of children. Hospitals have not only been targeted, they’ve been completely destroyed, refugee camps have been targeted. People have nowhere to go. There is no food and no access to aid. These are clear breaches of International Humanitarian Law.

Under UK arms exports licensing conditions, arms sales should be immediately suspended when there is a clear risk they will be used to commit war crimes. It could not be clearer this is happening in Gaza but the UK government is refusing to take action.

But we will not refuse to act. The UK government and the UK arms trade is complicit in genocide. We owe it to every single Palestinian person to continue protesting and to continue raising our voices. We are proud that Cornwall is part of this global day of action, and we refuse to be silenced while UK companies profit from the death of Palestinian children.

Meanwhile, the national march in London will see a surprise visitor.

Amal returns to the UK

Little Amal is a global symbol of human rights and the rights of children in particular. The name Amal means “hope” in Arabic. She represents a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl who travels alone across Europe to find her mother. She was created in 2021 for a project in which she walked between the Syrian-Turkey border and the UK to draw attention to the experience of refugees. Since then she has travelled the world and met millions of people.

On Saturday Amal will bring hope as she walks with demonstrators calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the lifting of Israel’s siege and immediate humanitarian relief.

Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than 23,000 Palestinians, including more than 10,000 children. Thousands more are missing, presumed dead. More than 85% of the population of Gaza have been displaced and more than 60% of buildings damaged or destroyed. The UN has warned one in four people in Gaza are starving as Israel refuses to allow in adequate supplies and destroys food infrastructure.

‘Hope’ for Gaza and the Occupied Territories

Amir Nizar Zuabi, artistic director of the Walk Productions and a Palestinian, said:

Amal has become a symbol of the vulnerability and resilience of the millions of people that met her or followed her journey. On Saturday Amal walks for those most vulnerable and for their bravery and resilience. Amal is a child and a refugee and today in Gaza childhood is under attack, with an unfathomable number of children killed. Childhood itself is being targeted. That’s why we walk.

Ben Jamal, national Palestine Solidarity Campaign director, said :

Israel has tried to ensure that Palestinians feel nothing but despair as they conduct a genocide in Gaza. But the world stands in solidarity with Palestinians and millions of people will protest this weekend in cities around the world.

Amal means hope in Arabic, and her presence in London on the March for Palestine, as part of a Global Day of Action, gives us not just hope but determination to continue our campaign not only to end Israel’s current bombardment of the Gaza Strip, but to end the decades of military occupation and the system of apartheid under which Palestinians have lived for over 75 years.

Featured image via PSC