MOTHERS Against Genocide have urged MSPs to take “meaningful action” after the Scottish Parliament voted to boycott Israel with immediate effect.
Outside of Holyrood on Thursday, campaigners laid out kites designed by children from across Scotland demanding justice for the thousands of children killed in Gaza.
Campaigners read out the names of the children killed who were aged between 0 and six, starting at 8am and expecting to finish at around 6pm.
Fariel Good, a mother-of-three, told The National that the group came together after being “heartbroken” seeing children suffering and being killed in Gaza.
Good said that there had been “little action” and that the group were urging Scotland’s politicians to send a strong message about how they will “counteract the atrocities in Gaza”.
She argued that this could be through funding, helping students who had secured places at Scottish universities to get out of Palestine, and send a message to Israel.
Asked how she felt following Holyrood voting to impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions on Israel, Good said: “I think it's a first step, and that’s what we would always say as a group, we have been waiting for 22 months to see some action and this is a step, in the right direction, and we were very welcoming of it, but it's only the first of many steps that need to be taken.
“A lot of actions were put in place but we want to see them come to fruition.”
Good added that while the Palestinian flag was flown after the vote, it was taken down “very quickly”.
“A lot of this could be performative, but it could be meaningful if they follow through, divestment is a very powerful way to show Israel we will hurt them where it means the most,” she added.
Cat Train, another member of the group, said that they wanted to ensure the voices of Scotland’s children were heard.
“Over summer we’ve been asking children to make kites to send a message about Palestine, so we’re bringing those voices to Parliament and we’re also bringing the voices of children who have been murdered by Israel by having a vigil reading out the baby and children’s names,” she explained.
Asked why she felt it was important to involve children in the campaign, as many could be seen drawing with chalk while the group read out the names of murdered children, she explained: “It’s a moral obligation to let our children know.”
Train added that for her generation, it was difficult to understand why no-one had tried to “stop the Nazis” or the Holocaust.
“At some point, our children, even if you don’t tell them anything, are going to ask what you did when Israel were wiping out Palestine,” she added.
“It’s important for our children to be involved in that and aware of what’s happening, but also to have a voice within that, and for our politicians to know our children are aware of it and want to hold them to account.
“It’s good that they’ve made statements yesterday and they’ve said words about actions that they’re going to take but they now need to really quickly start taking those actions.
“Us and the rest of the solidarity movement won’t be placated with just words, we need to see actions, because there’s people being murdered in Palestine every single day.”
