Flying kites for Palestine
December 17, 2024
By WeMove Europe
Kites hold a special meaning for many Palestinian children. [1] Hope. Defiance. Freedom.
In his famous poem, Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer encourages the world to fly kites and speak up for the children of Gaza. [2]
And as a new wind is blowing through the halls of power in Brussels, we wanted to do just that.
But censorship around Palestine is strong. The main Brussels postering business JCDecaux refused to publish our billboards, telling us that Alareer’s poem is too political. Then we turned to bike advertisements and other companies instead. But they too said they could not carry banners with a Palestinian poem.
So we did the job of filling the halls of power with Palestinian kites and Alareer’s words ourselves, together with people from this community as Bernhard, Can and Magda.
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We printed our demand for peace and the recognition of Palestine on door hangers and filled the European Parliament with these ahead of the new Commissioners - who will shape how Europe’s response to the violence against Gaza - getting grilled by our representatives. [3]
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We placed billboards of Alareer’s poem in front of the Parliament and handed our petition which over 90.000 people signed, over to MEP Hana Jalloul-Muro - who then asked questions to the new Commissioners about how she will work for peace in her first 100 days. [4]
The Palestinian people need new champions inside the EU. The new Commissioner Kaja Kallas, in charge of European foreign affairs, has a chance to reset Europe’s approach, and show leadership on peace in the Middle East.
But when asked questions in Parliament, Kallas’ responses on Israel’s war in Gaza were weak compared to her strong stance on ending the war in Ukraine. She reiterated a commitment to a two state solution, but nothing on recognising Palestine. [5]
The EU cannot sit back and continue to watch the horrors unfold in Palestine and Israel any longer. Historical steps need to be made now.
So on her first day in office we greeted Kallas and all other members of the European Commission by rolling out a white carpet with Alareer’s words. We handed out more door hangers and watched people read our demands as they walked through the Commission doors.
A decade ago, more than 12.000 children flew kites on a Gazan beach and set a new world record. [6] Today, we had a hard time even flying one in the capital of the EU institutions.
But we learned how to dodge censorship by coming together. We learned that there are champions inside the EU who want to fight with us for change. [7] And we learned that the fight for Palestinian recognition is far from over, even with new leadership.
- We printed our demand for peace and the recognition of Palestine on door hangers and filled the European Parliament with these ahead of the new Commissioners - who will shape how Europe’s response to the violence against Gaza - getting grilled by our representatives. [3]
- We placed billboards of Alareer’s poem in front of the Parliament and handed our petition which over 90.000 people signed, over to MEP Hana Jalloul-Muro - who then asked questions to the new Commissioners about how she will work for peace in her first 100 days. [4]
**The Palestinian people need new champions inside the EU.** The new Commissioner Kaja Kallas, in charge of European foreign affairs, has a chance to reset Europe’s approach, and show leadership on peace in the Middle East.
But when asked questions in Parliament, **Kallas’ responses on Israel’s war in Gaza were weak** compared to her strong stance on ending the war in Ukraine. She reiterated a commitment to a two state solution, but nothing on recognising Palestine. [5]
The EU cannot sit back and continue to watch the horrors unfold in Palestine and Israel any longer. Historical steps need to be made now.
So **on her first day in office we greeted Kallas** and all other members of the European Commission **by rolling out a white carpet with Alareer’s words.** We handed out more door hangers and **watched people read our demands as they walked through the Commission doors.**
A decade ago, more than 12.000 children flew kites on a Gazan beach and set a new world record. [6] Today, we had a hard time even flying one in the capital of the EU institutions.
But we learned how to dodge censorship by coming together. We learned that there are champions inside the EU who want to fight with us for change. [7] And we learned that **the fight for Palestinian recognition is far from over, even with new leadership.**){kind=link}