We had such a great turnout for Community Solidarity London's rally in support of healthcare workers today.
Unfortunately we were confronted by another #FreeDumbConvoy, but most problematically, confronted by the #ldnont police. A 🧵
Our amazing speakers, like @DirkaProut seen here, spoke about the need to support the healthcare workers on the front lines, while a stationary group of #convoy protesters nearby heckled "bullshit!"
We turned our attn to the road, encouraging drivers to honk in solidarity for healthcare workers and pro-science initiatives, in an effort to take back the narrative from the #ConvoyForFreedom2022, which has filled our streets with cries for anti-science, anti-democratic action
And then the #convoy arrived. As soon as the first vehicle approached, we took to the street to demand that they turn around. We did not want them to have access to St. Joe's Hospital, where patients and healthcare workers would be subjected yet again to that nuisance.
The #ldnont police immediately surrounded us, threatened us, pushed us, knocking at least one in our group to the ground. We protested at the crosswalk whenever the convoy was stopped at a red light but were eventually forbidden from doing so.
They blocked us in, allowing the #convoy to keep harassing our neighborhood. They claimed to be there to "protect us", but who are they really protecting?
The police claim they were *not* providing escort for the #convoy, but they did block lanes of traffic and provided them with an unobstructed route, so they rolled out the red carpet instead.
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There are four sounds you hear in Rafah as night falls: the incessant buzz of drones, the menacing roar of jet engines, the boom of exploding bombs.... and children's laughter.
A thread lovingly dedicated to the "rascal children of Gaza"
Despite knowing that children make up nearly 1/2 its population, the sheer # of kids in Gaza still took me by surprise. They fill the streets -- playing, running, on bikes, holding hands, selling goods, carrying toys, buckets, food, each other -- and their chatter fills the air.
Many were excited for Ramadan, a time of community spirit, ritual and bonding. They've been making decorations with whatever materials they can find, stringing them up, taking in whatever moments of joy that they can in the midst of this climate of uncertainty.
I just returned from Gaza, on a medical mission with @glia_intl. I bore witness to the human suffering caused by Israel’s ongoing war against Palestinians, but especially children. We are now in the terminal phase of a genocide that has been ongoing for 75 years.
I visited multiple hospitals and spent significant time in Rafah, an area that once housed 30,000 and is now home to over 1 million IDPs. Makeshift tents are everywhere, and refuse and rubble are piling up. Tents are now popping up in the hospitals, too, as people seek refuge.
Many hospital staff in Rafah are living in tents, close to work & away from family, providing constant care with little to no respite. They may only see their families once a week. So not only are they displaced from their homes, they are isolated from their loved ones as well.