My 2nd Palestine delegation 2020

I’m fortunate to have just returned from my second international solidarity delegation to Palestine with the NEU. A lot has changed since I first visited Palestine 2 years ago, the visual reality of how much the settlements have grown is very shocking but the optimism of the Palestinians is still not dimmed …..in fact they are more determined than ever to reclaim their land. After my first visit when I spoke of Palestine I did make the point that there is a system of apartheid in place there but this time that was far more obvious. We saw segregated buses, different roads for Palestinians and Israelis and different coloured number plates on their cars as well as all the permits depending on your ethnicity and where you live. We visited very deprived Palestinian schools where teachers are truly mothers to their children and try to keep the outside from coming into their happy classrooms. The classrooms are cramped, there are attempts to censor their text books to delete their Palestinian history and they are harassed on their journey to and from school ….but still they smiled, thanked us for our solidarity and asked us to tell the world the truth on our return. We also spoke to activists, academics and NGOs about the situation and how important the role of the UK and other Western countries is in being able to fight for Palestinian rights…..they are relying on us and it’s completely unacceptable that their struggle has continued for so long. Similar situations that we couldn’t imagine being resolved have had a successful conclusion…the Northern Ireland peace agreement and the end to apartheid in South Africa are 2 very important instances. We need to increase our efforts for the Palestinians and because I have seen and heard their story, I will continue to bear witness to their experience and increase my efforts to be their voice. #Existenceisresistance #Tearsarenotenough #FreePalestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸✊