As the death toll in Gaza rises, Ireland’s Palestinians are being driven to desperation by a lack of contact with their families, writes VIKTOR POSUDNEVSKY
Demonstrations against the war in Gaza have a marked anti-Israeli slant, but anyone would be outraged if their families were going through anything remotely resembling the crisis in the region, claim members of Ireland’s Palestinian community.
Palestinians living in Ireland, many of whom are Irish citizens, have described to Metro Éireann the horror they are going through as they are unable to reach relatives in the Gaza Strip.
“I know that my house was destroyed,” said Ahmed Mohammad, originally from Gaza and now an Irish citizen, having lived here for eight years. “But I don’t know if all of my family made it out alive. For two days I could not get through to them.”
According to Mohammad, telephone communication in Gaza is defunct most of the time, and only occasionally is it possible to get through to a landline number. With foreign journalists banned by the Israeli government from entering Gaza, news reports are scarce and the lack of reliable information is driving Mohammad and other Palestinians to desperation.
“We are all dependent on Al-Jazeera for information,” said Sam Nazer, spokesman for the Palestinian community in Ireland, in reference to the Arabic news channel which runs special bulletins naming Palestinians who were killed or injured as a result of the fighting.
Nazer has three aunts and nine cousins in Gaza city. “One of the aunts is badly injured,” he said, “but I don’t know the outcome because there’s no communication. Another aunt, a 74-year-old, is living in a refugee camp in the town of Rafah. I don’t know anything about her. She could be dead.”
According to Nazer, there are around 1,200 Palestinians living in Ireland, north and south, with about a third from Gaza.
“The situation is very depressing, to put it mildly,” he said. “Because Gaza is under a total blockade there is nothing we can do to try and help our loved ones. We can’t get them out and we can’t send aid. This is driving many Palestinians to desperation.”
Calls to boycott Israel
As the crisis in Gaza escalates and the death toll rises, there are increasing calls for Ireland to put pressure on Israel to stop its offensive, which has left in excess of 900 Palestinians dead.
Last week, Siptu director Jack O’Connor and Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews joined calls for a diplomatic boycott of Israel and the expulsion from Ireland of the Israeli ambassador.
Proposals were also being made for Irish MEPs to lobby for the suspension of EU trade agreements with Israel.
One of the most vocal supporters of this policy, Ireland’s MEP Mary-Lou McDonald said at a press-conference: “I welcome the statement by our Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin condemning Israel. Now Ireland has to follow the logic of its position. Ireland can and must lead the way in the EU.”
On 4 January, Minister Martin issued a statement condemning “the disproportionate use of force by Israel”.
A group promoting solidarity with Palestine will launch a campaign this coming Saturday to boycott Israeli goods in Irish stores.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign also reported that one of its activists was detained by gardai after he stuck labels on Israeli-produced goods in a Marks & Spencers department store in Dublin.
