Activist Voices: Solidarity with Palestine Protests in South Belfast
By Stella Lee
Hundreds gathered in front of the gates of Queen’s University Belfast on the 28th of September to march to the US Consulate General in South Belfast. This march was organised by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign after a US bomb was dropped on tents housing children in Gaza. The march was followed by speeches from multiple speakers and The Gown had the opportunity to interview one of them afterwards.
The following is an interview between The Gown writer Stella Lee and activist Aisling McGeown.
Stella Lee: Hi, could you introduce yourself?
Aisling McGeown: My name’s Aisling McGeown, I’m a member of Jews For Palestine Ireland, Mothers Against Genocide and also the UCU Palestine activism group within Queen’s.
SL: What are we doing here today at the US Consulate?
AMcG: Well, everyone has come out today in solidarity with Palestine. Every week one of these protests happens and another issue is highlighted because there are so many. There has been so much destruction, it has impacted journalists, it has impacted mothers, fathers, and children, and an entire infrastructure has been destroyed. We’re here today to highlight in particular the death of children, children have suffered the most in this war, and it has been clear from the beginning that this is a war against children. And it has been intentional, in my opinion. It is a plan to completely destroy and disintegrate people and the place. And we’re here to stand up against that and to fight and give a voice to the people that can’t stand here, that don’t have a voice, and that are being oppressed and murdered by the Israeli government.
SL: Could you talk a bit about the poem that you read?
AMcG: I suppose one of the things that I find helpful to process this, is writing poetry. As a Jewish person this issue is very important to me – to use my Jewish voice to stand up for Palestine. And to do that through poetry is the only way I found I can do it because it is such an emotive issue, there is so much devastation. And there will be so much devastation for so many years to come. The poem I wrote today is highlighting the murder of children, the brutal murder of children.
“Children are orphaned, children are left completely destroyed without family, and children who are surviving are saying that they wish they had died with their family.“
And it’s really to sort of challenge any ridiculous notions around this being about politics or this being about self-defence, or each side having the right to fight for what they believe in. Actually, no. When it comes to the amount of bombs that have been dropped, the amount of destruction, the amount of murder, it’s not. It’s not that. The poem I wrote is really to say, this is about children. The Israeli government is murdering generations and generations of Palestinians that would have survived. They wiped out entire family lines. So I wrote the poem to highlight that.
Have you seen the children?
Have you seen the children?
The trembling children,
the bloodied children
The lost children,
the terrified children
The torso’s of children,
the limbs of children
The hands under rubble,
clutching for life
Their grip disappearing,
as day becomes night
The children the
children the children
Not heros nor rebels
Not Scores to settle
Terrorists to be leveled
Not Orphanded acronyms
Named only by their limbs
Not legitimate targets aged 13
Collatoral damage aged 3
Have you seen the children?
Born to the beat
of a war criminals drum
Wrapped in white sheets
when his damage is done
Held up to the world;
we must bare witness
Remembering one day
that it could be us
Holding our children
our children their children
are our children
Have you seen the children?
They are murdering the children
They are murdering all of the children
When the last tear
of the last child falls
The world will be over
Over and over and over again
We must see the children
We must never look away
Have you seen the children?
Free Palestine
