Silk In The North

I just spent time at a refugee camp in Middle East which is housing victims of Israel’s war crimes. They were brought there for treatment. I met children whose eyes looked so hollow I had no words. I saw kids with amputated limbs and scars across their faces and bodies. I met little ones who had lost their parents and just wanted to sit next to the stranger from England - so cute. I saw adults who have lost everything. Everyone had massive life changing injuries. I was told about a two year old with an amputated leg and a child who had lost 60 members of her family (I didn’t meet them) I saw the injuries up close and in person. It was beyond what I could imagine. I met a smart, good looking, intelligent 15 year old boy who told me he had wanted to be a human rights lawyer. He had serious injuries to his legs and could only walk with crutches. It took him some time to sit down because of the pain. Then he told me his story. His father is still in Gaza working as a doctor and he worries every day that he will be killed. He told me he was in hospital when it was attacked by Israel. He told me that he had seen a person’s head being crushed under rubble. He said it changed to a square shape until it gave way to the weight. He told me he had volunteered for human rights NGOs but now he didn’t believe in law and human rights anymore. He told me these were things for everyone else and not for Palestinians. He told me he felt abandoned by the world. I didn’t know what to say to him until I saw how strong this 15 year old still was. He was determined to make me understand what was happening in Gaza and he did a better job of doing that than anyone I met so far. He kept saying you will never know what it is like because I lived it and you haven’t. He thanked me for my work but thought it wouldn’t mean anything. He told me had no hope… I told him that I saw hope. When he asked me where - I pointed at his chest and told him you are the hope. This was an amazing, resilient, brilliant child. I am determined for him to tell his story and will make him an ambassador for the ICJP. I want him to become a human rights lawyer. I don’t want that to taken away from him too. I have never felt so much anger and sadness at the world for what it has allowed to happen and continues to allow to happen. Contemplating the speed at which the ICC is moving and seeing the anger directed at it I totally understand it. We are the clients of the ICC and are entitled to demand it does its job. I am still sure it will. But I agree that there should be anger - real anger and this should clearly be directed at: - Israeli leaders and members of the IDF - State leaders who defy immediate ceasefire requests and continue to supply weapons, finance and military support - politicians that support Israel and pretend to call on it to adhere to law - politicians that think we are stupid enough to fall for their hollow words when all they want is your vote. - media organisations and client journalists that hide the truth or that allow the Israeli lobby to bully it and hide the truth from people - commentators that continue to support Israel’s plausible genocide and repeatedly ask us to condemn hamas without a thought for the tens of thousands that Israel has murdered. I no longer have the patience to listen to those that know the truth and continue to ignore it.

True to our word we have taken the first step in holding those alleged to support war crimes in the UK to account. We have referred a complaint to Scotland Yard. The complaint names 9 UK citizens who are allegedly fighting with the IDF and 4 UK government officials.