A vigil was held in County Durham today (October 13) in support of the Palestinian people following ongoing conflict with Israel in the Middle East.
Demonstrators from the County Durham Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered in their droves at Market Square in Durham City Centre this afternoon.
Draped in Palestinian flags and holding pickets reading "end the violence", "save Gaza" and "we are humans too", attendees took turns to speak, standing in front of the Charles Vane equestrian statue.
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Made up of both adults and young children, speakers overwhelmed by emotion were cheered on by friends as well as from some passers-by who often shouted "free Palestine".
Bill Williamson is a member of the County Durham Palestine Solidarity Campaign and was the first to publicly speak.
"Our concern is with human life, and in the long term, peace. At the moment, we are all dealing with feelings of anger that this is happening, despair at this moment there feels there is no way to stop it and hopelessness that we don't think governments are representing what we feel.
"The conflict that we are hearing about in the news, in the constant news cycle, was not inevitable. It is not ordained, it need not have happened. It is a conflict of choice.
"History has no logic other than the choices that we make."
30-year-old Hala Shoman, a PhD student at Newcastle University also took a chance to speak, and told the story of her family who have been evacuated from the Gaza strip.
Speaking through tears, Hala spoke of her sister and four young children in Gaza who are sleeping in one room together in case they get "bombarded".
This way, she said, if the worst was to happen they would die together and "would not have to mourn each other".
Cries from others who spoke to the crowd shouted "this is about humanity", and exclaimed "this is a genocide".
Another attendee came to the vigil with her young child. Umran Avdin, originally from Turkey, spoke of her friends who are still living in Gaza. She has not heard from them in a while.
"It's really horrifying to watch this happen - it's been so hard", Umran added tearfully.
"Today has been really empowering - but I just cannot understand how the big countries support Israel."
Following the vigil, Bill Williamson spoke of the families that have been affected as well as the previous occasions in which he has demonstrated for Palestine.
"I stood on those steps at least four times in the last few years", he said. "2008, 2012, 2014, 2021 and now."
Bill added: "Something new is needed - some initiative that in the short run is humanitarian as it is a disaster right now in Palestine.
"Some of these Palestinian students have lost relatives this weekend, and we keep hearing about our friends in Gaza. It's just getting worse and worse."
Ahead of their second protest at Monument in Newcastle tomorrow (October 14), Bill admitted the support from Durham is heartening.
He said: "Today has been encouraging for several reasons. One is the diversity of people that are here. Old, and young, it's not just a sectional group within Durham - this is widespread.
"The level of support that there is has been misjudged by the government."
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