Derry marks World Children's Day in solidarity with the children and young people of Gaza

Led by children carrying teddy bears and young musicians from Donegal and Derry, World Children’s Day was marked in the city with a candlelight procession and vigil in Guildhall Square.

The event was held in protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which the charity Save the Children estimates at least 3,100 children under five have been killed. 

Speaking to The Derry News, co-organiser Derry City and Strabane District councillor Catherine McDaid (SDLP) said it was important to mark World Children’s Day by acknowledging the thousands of children and young people who were being “murdered, in cold blood, every day”.

She added: “We are here to show our solidarity and our children wanted to come out and show their solidarity with the people in Palestine, to let them know we won’t forget about them.  

“We are going to keep shouting until this ends. We still have a voice and we can keep shouting until the governments listen to us. They need to step in and stop this,” said Cllr McDaid.

Led by children holding teddy bears & candles & young musicians, Derry marked World Children's Day with a rally & vigil in Guildhall Square.

The event was in protest at the ongoing genocide in Gaza & the killing of at least 3,100 children under five.

@DerryNow / @derrypost pic.twitter.com/pbvwx9kLYn

— Catherine McGinty (@CathMcGin_Tea) November 20, 2024

Emma Jane McGlinchey who was attending the procession said: “I am a mammy. I watch what is happening every day in Palestine. It is absolutely soul destroying watching it, day in, day out and nobody is stopping it.

“I just think, if it was my child, I would want everybody to be doing this for me and for my family.”

Catherine Hutton, the chairperson of the Derry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the events of the past 14 months were “horrifying”.

She added: “I don’t even know what to say anymore because Gaza is starving. Children are being murdered, day in and day out, with total impunity and the world is just watching. 

“People are on the streets. The protests haven’t stopped. People are banging on doors but it is not cutting through. 

“Initially, for America, it is totally a geo-political issue. Israel is its proxy in the Middle East. In addition, Israel has a very strong hold over Evangelical Christians. 

“Then there is the money. Money is being poured in to propping it up and bankrolling politicians, especially in America. Practically all of the Congress and the Senate members are paid by America Israel Public Accounts Committee (AIPAC) and Christians United For Israel (CUFI). Also, some of them are out and out Zionists.

“Joe Biden is a committed Zionist, has been all of his career. But he has also had billions paid to him throughout his career,” said Ms Hutton who also criticised the Irish Government’s failure to enact The Occupied Territories Bill. 

The World Children’s Day vigil ended with young people in the crowd reading articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.