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30-11-2023
WASHINGTON: Julia Fawzi Saeed Al-Kurd was one year old. She was killed along with several members of her family in an Israeli air raid on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on October 11.
Her name appeared in local reports on the day of the bombing and later on a list of people killed in Israeli attacks, released by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
As with thousands of other Palestinians who have been wiped out in the Israeli offensive, little is publicly known about Julia beyond her death.
Had she uttered her first word? Did she take her first step? What was her favorite toy? What lullaby did her parents sing to put her to sleep but in Washington, DC, some activists are trying to keep the memory of children like Julia alive, with a provocative reminder of the young lives lost during the war in Gaza.
On a chilly Sunday morning in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, the activists protested silently, passing out leaflets to passersby. At their feet were a row of small figures wrapped in white shrouds, each splattered in blood and each bearing the name of a real child killed in Gaza. Julia’s name was on one of them.
“We are witnessing a genocide in Gaza. End the injustice NOW,” the flyer read, urging a ceasefire and an end to United States military support for Israel.
The protest was one of daily demonstrations across the Washington area led by an informal group called Die-in for Humanity.
Hazami Barmada organized the protests in an effort to break through pre-conceived notions about the Gaza war, with stark reminders of the humanity of those under siege. Barmada, who is of Palestinian and Syrian descent, estimates the group has handed out more than 14,000 flyers so far.
“The reality is our social media turns into echo chambers and people read the news they want to read,” she said. “So we go into places where your average person is walking around and try to provoke deeper questions and reflections on what’s happening and more awareness about what’s happening to Palestinians.”
Israeli attacks have killed more than 15,000 Palestinians since October 7, making the war one of the deadliest conflicts for civilians and children in modern history.
Where possible, Barmada and her fellow volunteers lie on the ground during protests to mirror the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli raids.
“We really hope that people will stop and actually start to question the toll of war, the toll of endorsing this with our tax dollars,” Barmada told media, referring to Washington’s military aid to Israel.
She said the protesters want to make people feel “uncomfortable within a controlled environment” in order to spark meaningful conversations. (Int’l News Desk)
