Gaza Genocide.
By Perri Gorrara with quotes from LETS TALK PALESTINE
Last night (May 30th) a film was shown in the Denman Community Hall that laid bare the genocide in Gaza and The West Bank. Let me give you some statistics from the first year of this on-going genocide:
“The projected death toll is between 155,406 and 777,030
This means that between 6.7% and 33.66% of Gaza’s population has been or will be wiped out.”
“ 75000 + tons of bombs dropped on Gaza, collectively 4.6 times the explosive force of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb”.
“1.9 million civilians (90% of Gaza’s population) displaced at least once.”
“986 healthcare workers killed. Only 13-17 out of 36 hospitals partially functioning.”
“174 journalists killed.”
“ All universities in Gaza destroyed. 93% of schools destroyed/damaged.”
“96% of the population faces acute food insecurity.”
“22% of the population (approx. 495,000 people) at risk of famine.”
These are just a few of the appalling statistics available for review. The question is, what can we , as Denman and Hornby Islanders do to stand up against the perpetrators of this genocide and their financial supporters?
On June 14th there will be a National Day of Action regarding ScotiaBank’s funding of this genocide and their making a profit on their investment in arms producers who benefit enormously from creating and continuing wars. In downtown Courtenay there will be a street party from 2pm to 5 pm on June 14th during which a mural will be painted condemning Scotia Bank’s investment strategy. Bring your paintbrushes and let’s actively stand up for the people of Gaza and The West Bank. We can bring this war to an end by shaming institutions into ending their investments in Israel and weapons producers around the world.
A second way that we can help to end this genocide is by avoiding buying any Israeli products. This involves reading labels carefully before making a purchase.
The world is at a crossroads and we need to stand up for the Palestinians and Canada in every way that we, as individuals, can. I welcome our community’s response to the issues raised in this article. I can be reached at: perilou@mac.com or by phone at: 250 703 3192.
