Thread by @LouiseRawAuthor

‘She was irreplaceable’.

A sad, proud, moving day at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street today, for the memorial service for #ShireenAbuAkleh

The shock and pain of Shireen’s friends and colleagues, just 6 weeks on from her murder, is palpable.

Her niece Lina, by video link, called her‘my best friend’.
‘A part of me is broken’, she said-but because Shireen was brave & optimistic, she has to go on, and hope for justice

Lina noted that Shireen was actually ‘still reporting, still exposing truths’ even at her own funeral- when the world saw Israeli forces attack mourners.

Shireen’s colleague Ali Samoudi called her a ‘lady of light in a holy city’, a sister- like everyone who spoke he recalled what a generous, giving person she was.
‘She may be gone but the seed she has sown across Palestine will continue to grow’

Najwan Simri spoke from Jerusalem with the city as her backdrop - ‘the view Shireen & I loved’.
Najwan met Shireen when working for Al Jazeera as a young woman, & they became close friends until Shireen was ‘nearest to my soul’.
Shireen was ‘the kindest person I’ve ever known’

Najwan & Shireen were often travelling, covering wars and clashes. Far from home, Shireen became like a second mother to Najwan, giving her a sense of security.
She loved Shireen’s sense of humour- even when things were serious & frightening she’d always try to find some joy

Shireen’s close friend Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab spoke in person & fought back tears describing her beloved friend. Shireen was always the one to intervene and bring people back together if there was a fall-out in their friendship group:‘our diplomatic friend’.

I spoke briefly to Dr Naser-Najjab afterwards and she told me she still scrolls through their old messages, and has to stop herself calling Shireen.

The senseless suddenness of her death has left her loved ones profoundly shocked and dislocated- they’re still reeling💔

British Palestinian singer Reem Kelani sang Arabic song ‘The Singer Said’, with the lines ‘I died standing/ Standing..I died like the trees’, noting that Shireen also died standing, just doing her job.

As a candle was lit we stood to observe a minute’s silence for Shireen and the other *FORTY FIVE* Palestinian journalists killed in the last 22 years. A reminder of how brave Shireen was and her colleagues are, with the ever present risk of death so clearly before them

Was great to see the diamond that is @MPeakeOfficial, who came all the way down to London just to pay her respects to #ShireenAbuAkleh

Quick chat with @ClaudiaWebbe and @jeremycorbyn too; he commented on what a beautiful service it was & how good to see so many humanitarian groups like @MedicalAidPal present.
He talked about the desperate need for peace, but that could only come with justice, & ending occupation

#ShireenAbuAkleh will remain as important in her absence as she was when present.
She inspired a generation of Palestinian girls through her example, & gave hope to so many.
Her niece Lina noted that even under brutal attack, her mourners still carried Shireen on their shoulders

just as bravely as she had carried their voices and their truths.

She asked us all not to stop speaking about Shireen.
That’s an easy promise to keep.
And little Palestinians will grow up knowing her name.

#ShireenAbuAkleh

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