“Silence speaks louder than words”: Demonstration in support of women and children in Gaza

A silent protest took place in Dorchester to “raise awareness of the number of women and children dying in Gaza”.

The Women in Black Circle was held in South Street on Saturday and saw a group of women from the Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign stand in a silent circle in the center of the street.

Walking (Image: Dorset CFP)

These women included Sam and Yoyo.

Sam said: “We’re doing this because so many women and children are dying in Gaza and we thought something like this was a poignant way to put it across. »

Yoyo added: “We do them all over Dorset. It went pretty well and we had a pretty positive response from people.

“I think sometimes silence speaks louder than words.”

As the silent circle took place, a number of other members of the group stood on either side of the street handing out posters and chatting with people.

Johnny Gannon, 17, and Gemma Fox-Worthington, 17, were handing out leaflets.

Johnny Gannon and Gemma Fox-Worthington (Image: Hollie Carr)

Johnny explained that the protest was intended to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, adding that he would soon embark on a “noisier” protest march down South Street as another means of raising awareness.

Gemma said: “It was a good day, lots of people took leaflets. We think people are starting to open their eyes. »

After the silent protest, the group gathered and speakers from the group took turns speaking into a microphone and delivering individual messages before marching down the street.

During the demonstration (Image: Dorset CFP)

Diane, a protester whose husband is Palestinian, said: “I have been married to a Palestinian for almost 40 years. I traveled through the West Bank and visited Gaza. The Palestinian people are the most welcoming people I have ever met.

“The assault we are witnessing now is sickening beyond words. Seeing my beautiful family being denied the rights we take for granted here must stop. We cannot talk about human rights here while denying the human rights of Palestinians. I call on our government to immediately ban arms sales to Israel and demand a permanent ceasefire.

Start of the walk (Image: Hollie Carr)

On the same day, at 6 p.m., a protest took place against the screening of the Eurovision Song Contest outside the Weymouth Pavilion.

Palestinians have called for a global boycott of the show due to organizers’ refusal to ban Israel – in contrast to the ban imposed on Russia for its illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine.

Demonstration in front of Weymouth Pavilion (Image: Dorset CFP)

The singing competition was overshadowed by protests in Malmö, Sweden, where the competition is taking place, due to the inclusion of Israeli contestant Eden Golan in the final.