How voices of the youth in Britain have played a role against the Gazan genocide

Image Courtesy: @ianhutchinson92 on Unsplash

Now marks just over 2 months of the world witnessing, daily, the oppression of Palestinians in Gaza as Israel continuously attacks civilians following the events of October 7th. A wave of activism has risen on a worldwide scale with people, notably youth, taking to the streets to protest – demanding peace, ceasefire, and the upholding of human rights. 

Across the UK, and seen even around the UCL campus, more and more students have been keen to show their support for the cause through their clothing. The most prominent example of this is the keffiyeh which has historically been a significant symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause: resistance against the Israeli occupation.

Furthermore, young people played a great role in holding certain parties accountable to their complicity in genocide. This was physically shown through their attendance of pro-Palestine protests in London as well as school and university walk-outs. The protests have gained notable attention with hundreds of thousands attending.

One specific demonstration which stirred controversy was on Armistice Day due to the sensitive significance surrounding this day. Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, takes place on the 11th of November, in memory of the millions of soldiers who sacrificed their life in the First World War. A commemoration is held at the Cenotaph in London, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. For this reason, the British government, initially, as well as many members of the public, voiced their concerns of holding a demonstration on this day, out of respect. However, protestors declared that the historical importance of this day was all the more reason to call for a ceasefire. They also ensured that the protesting took place far from the location of the memorial and later on in the day - to avoid a collision of events. This event was later declared “one of the largest political marches in British history”.

While young adults have played a vital role in calling for justice for the Palestinian people, children have also played a role. British children attended vigils held to mourn the lost lives of Gazan children – making up 50% of Gaza’s total death count. Within the month following October 7th, 3,000 teddy bears, in memory of each Palestinian child killed, were placed outside the British Foreign Office in Central London. Since then, this number has been greatly surpassed, with the current death count exceeding 17,000.

Perhaps due to the natural globalisation of Earth today and the way that word spreads, the youth of Britain have actively voiced their concerns across the country, despite, very often, certain parties aiming to suppress them. This has been further reinforced by the large role that social media plays in many of our lives today, causing wide scale echoing of ideologies countering those of the government. For example, Sunak’s government has openly voiced their support for Israel, thus directly opposing the support of Palestinians. Many feel that those in power do not accurately represent their stance on this issue and so have continued to actively express their disagreement with such.

Despite a long two months with no plan in place for a permanent ceasefire, the efforts of Britain’s youths can be deemed successful given their immense recognition and influence in educating others on the cause. Recently, it appears that the cumulative efforts have not been futile in helping the situation in Gaza, given the UN General Assembly’s passing of a resolution to call for a ceasefire on the 12th of December.