THE recently-reformed Schull Amnesty group, which like many of the other once-flourishing Amnesty local groups had been dormant for many years, held their first public event in Schull on Sunday last.
Noted local singer and group member, Camilla Griehsel, suggested a holding-hands-for-peace demonstration prior to the screening of the award-winning Palestinian-Israeli documentary No Other Land at the Fastnet Film Festival to the simple lyric of ‘all we are saying, is give peace a chance.’
‘The group’s reformation has been in direct response to the fact that bombs are still falling, most harrowingly and notably on Gaza. Sadly, however, Gaza is but one of many current instances of inhumanity and the group will also focus on these, as well as issues closer to home, such as direct provision,’ said a spokesperson.
The handholding chain wove its way back and forth through the market and then around the town, literally gaining ‘legs’ along the way, from two-year-olds on their first protest march to seasoned veterans, as all the while the words, ‘all we are saying’ ringing out.
Stephen Bowen, executive director of Amnesty Ireland and who is charged with refocusing and reinvigorating the organisation, came to Schull to meet the group and also take part in a panel discussion after the screening of the film.
At the conclusion of their walk through the town, everybody formed a large circle on the grass by the market and Stephen gave a short talk.
‘As the world comes to Schull for the fabulous Fastnet Film Festival, Amnesty here in West Cork has a message for the world: ‘let’s Stand together for human rights’.
‘Let’s be noisy for all those people for whom human rights are still only a distant dream, not least those in Gaza where we see an entire population being starved to death in front of our eyes, livestreamed into our homes, while the world still cannot say three simple words: ‘this is genocide’.
We will fight on. All around the world, people are protesting like this.
We will not give up. All those Palestinian lives must not have been lost in vain.
We must get the hostages released. We must stop the bombs being shipped to Israel. We must let the humanitarian aid get in.
We must have a ceasefire and we must hold accountable those who are responsible for this genocide.
Humanity will prevail because humanity can be better than this,’ he said.
