Kolkata: One two three four five, let Palestinian children stay alive. Six seven eight nine, Free Palestine. These slogans by hundreds of children echoed on Sunday morning in Central Kolkata.
Concerned Citizens of Kolkata, a group, which gave a call to boycott Isareli and American products since November 17 organised a rally – ‘We Indian Children For Palestinian Children,’ against the ongoing genocide in Palestine, especially in Gaza. Some women and parents also participated in it, while volunteers of CCK were seen assisting the children.
Children Rally For Palestine
“We have to participate in such rallies on a Sunday winter morning, which is a festival holiday as well because we can’t see any more kids and people killed in war. It is not even a war, there is no other side against Israel and America, they are killing innocent Palestinians at their will,” a girl holding a symbolic coffin told eNewsroom.
“We have come from Panchanno Gram (around seven kilometres) to participate in the rally. We could not keep sitting in the house and watching children being killed,” said a father holding his 3-year-old daughter on his shoulder walking along with his wife (just ahead of him) and other marching children.
In the last 80 days, more than 20000 Palestinians have been brutally murdered by Israeli forces by bombing several cities of Palestine including Gaza, Gaza Strip, West Bank and Rafah. Israel, which is getting full support from the United States, not only bombed the homes of thousands of Palestinians but did not spare schools, ambulances, refugee camps and United Nations centres. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) did not spare even para-medical staff, doctors, and journalists. So far, more than 10,000 children aged zero to 12 years have been killed mercilessly. Additionally, more than 300 medical staff, including doctors, and more than a hundred journalists, were murdered. The war observers claim that Israel is intentionally targeting kids to wipe off Palestinians’ generations and best minds of the oldest civilizations of the world so they are killing doctors, engineers, artists and all talented people as well as their families in Palestine.
“We hold the rally because, during our boycott of Israeli and American products, when we came in contact with children, they responded well to it. And now after more than 40 days of our calls, city children have almost left eating or using boycotted products, so we plan this, to remind their elder generation of the most pressing issue of our time, Athar Firdausi, an organizer told eNewsroom.
“This rally is a sign that Indian children are not silently witnessing the massacre. They are also getting aware of what different Israel is and how dangerous it is for humanity,” Manzer Jameel, a proactive social activist, reacted.
Listen to Mein Philistin Hun poem
Azhar Salim, another activist wearing a t-shirt written India Stands With Palestine claimed, “The world has never seen such genocide. Both the Israeli and American governments are lying. And they have been lying for 40-50 years. They wear coat pants, good clothes and claim that they are the torchbearers of human rights; but they only lie. India always stands with Palestine and here you can see even small children are participating in this rally in the support of Palestinians who have exemplary courage.”
Why War in Palestine, Where Messenger of Peace Was Born?
A 7-year-old girl asked a pertinent question on the eve of Christmas when the Messenger of Peace Jesus Christ was born in Palestine, why is there war going on there? Why genocide is happening and Israel is taking the lands of Palestinians?
In his concluding remark, Imtiaz Mollah, a well-known social activist, mentioned, “I have participated in several rallies and protests, but I have not seen such disciplined children rally. You have awakened old age people that there should be a strong protest against the ongoing genocide in Palestine and it should be stopped, the killing of innocent children should be stopped.”
Israeli-American Boycott movement
Mollah also took a promise from the participants that they will keep boycotting Israeli-American products.
Started on November 17, the boycott call is gaining strength and evolving into a movement in Kolkata. It is one of the longest campaigns, akin to the Farmers’ Movement and CAA-NRC protest sit-ins in India, in recent times.
“Our boycott call continues, and the children’s rally has given us strength to develop further strategies to turn it into a mass movement,” added Ather.
The names of the children has not been mentioned in the story.