Limerick Voices Join Global March to Gaza as ‘Silence is no longer an option’

Limerick Voices Join Global March to Gaza as ‘Silence is no longer an option’. The Irish group, which includes more than 40 citizens from across the country, will converge in Cairo before marching across the Sinai Desert to the Rafah border crossing.

Several people from County Limerick will join an international delegation travelling to Cairo this month as part of the Global March to Gaza

Several people from County Limerick will join an international delegation travelling to Cairo this month as part of the Global March to Gaza, a peaceful initiative calling for immediate humanitarian access to the besieged region and an end to the 19-month onslaught on Gaza.

The Irish group, which includes more than 40 citizens from across the country, will converge in Cairo before marching across the Sinai Desert to the Rafah border crossing.

Among them are Limerick-born and based participants, two of whom graduated from the University of Limerick, all who feel a deep moral duty to act.

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“I feel morally compelled to go to Gaza,” said one Limerick woman, adding, “It almost feels instinctive, I can no longer sit at home and watch a genocide live-streamed to the world. It’s about standing up against cruelty, starvation, and murder that is happening on a level I can barely comprehend.

“The number of children killed is particularly harrowing for me to digest. In the space of 19 months, Israel has murdered what would equate to the majority of the children in Limerick city, with all of those who remained being orphaned or maimed. That’s just an unimaginable amount of suffering by innocent children.

“My brain struggles to accept that type of horror, and yet, the remaining children of Gaza are dying of starvation and bombs every single day. When I heard about the March to Gaza, I took out my credit card and I booked a flight.”

Another Limerick woman said, “My family is a bit nervous, of course. But they fully support this movement. We’ve all watched this horror unfold for over a year and a half and done everything we can to help people directly, we’ve donated, we’ve done all the actions, written to government, taken part in protests etc, but there comes a point where you realise its falling on deaf ears, the government is not doing enough, our politicians are failing.”

The speaker noted the use of Irish airports to “facilitate the transfer of weapons of war”, adding, “Our central bank is allowing war bonds to rack up millions that go directly to fund the slaughter of children and they have watered down the OTB after sitting on it for literally years- so we continue to trade with and make money for, and off a genocidal state that doesn’t even bother trying to hide their bloodlust any more.”

The speaker noted there has been an “incredible bias” shown by the media in how “they have framed this genocide”. She said, “Palestinians feel like the world has abandoned them- we have to show them they are not alone; and show the governments of this world that we can and will come together in collective action, from all across the globe, to say enough. This has to stop.”

Others travelling from Limerick include a UL PhD researcher motivated by a sense of injustice and dismay at the inaction from political leaders, saying, “I have lost any confidence in our governments and the European Union to take meaningful actions to stop this genocide and to hold Israel accountable for the injustices and the unspeakable crimes that the Palestinian people are being subjected to.

“I now believe that only citizens’ mass mobilisation can turn the tide. This will be the greatest commitment that I have ever made in my life, and I am doing it because I believe this is my duty as a citizen. I feel empowered by the support of my local community here in Limerick,” she said.

“One of my siblings is worried, and I’ve been trying to reassure them that we are doing it for all of us and that the best they can do to protect us is to speak against this genocide.”

Another Limerick native said, “Egypt is a tightly controlled state, but the vast majority of its people support the Palestinian cause. I’m taking part in this global initiative because I believe we must do everything we can to stop the genocide and the deliberate starvation of the people of Palestine. I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I’m really hopeful. This is a peaceful, humanitarian mission.”

One county Limerick man said he is going to put pressure on those in power to make a change, “I am going to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and raise awareness to influence those in power who can make real change, to put real sanctions in place to ensure justice can happen.”

The Irish contingent is part of a global movement of citizens from over 50 countries calling for the permanent opening of the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid; an immediate end to the Israeli military occupation of Gaz; Internationally supported reconstruction efforts; and a full stop to the colonisation of Palestine While people in the group acknowledge the risks, they emphasise the greater moral risk of inaction.

“Every day, children are bombed and starved. How could we not go?” This is not just a political statement, it’s a profoundly human act. As one participant put it, “We are doing what we can, with our bodies and voices, to stand peacefully against violence and its victims.”