Spain’s Granada – Sometimes there were as few as two or three people, sometimes as many as fifteen.
No matter the number, a group of parents have dropped off their children at the Jose Hurtado primary school in Granada every morning for the past few weeks, then silently gathered nearby behind two straightforward but effective pro-Gaza banners: “Against Genocide” and “No more dead children.”
“It all began when a fictional video about Gaza’s destruction, set in 2040, was published on one of our parents’ WhatsApp groups. And in it, kids ask their parents, “What did you do during the genocide?” According to Al Jazeera, Mar Domech, who assisted in the beginning of the protest.
I started saying, “Let’s actually do something, a little like during the pandemic when people used to applaud hospital staff at eight every night, instead of re-sending the video.” And the majority of us parents liked it the best the 15 minutes before the kids started their lessons and the 15 minutes immediately following.
Simple protest formats are used. Two long banners are hung up by a single line of demonstrators next to a tall school wall to prevent passing by.
No chanting or shouting occurs. However, these are clearly school parents who care about children dying, many of whom are their own children, gives their show of support a stronger resonance. Because of its proximity to central Granada’s busy arterial street, the school’s message is widely received.
When so many children are dying and the laws must be upheld, Domech said, “We don’t want to upset anyone, but we just can’t look away.” “We must oppose this, whoever the victims are, because what is happening there is genocide.”
The highest per capita child amputee population in Gaza is at almost two years old after Israeli attacks. There have been more than 17, 000 fatalities. More than 930, 000 Gaza children are now at risk of famine, according to Save the Children.
The dozen or so “regulars” are treated with a mix of disappointment, resilience, and not a dash of wry humor, like when they recall two plainclothes police officers checking their IDs when more parents don’t show up.
Just as it happened, there were only two pro-Palestine parents present, but Domech laughed as Domech joked that the police turned up, which caused the protesters’ numbers to suddenly double.
In any case, their obstinate determination is still unbroken by the limited response.
In Palestine, one woman stops frequently to take a photo to send to a friend. The nearby medieval Alhambra monument is home to some of the cars or tourists traveling by bus.
Important are the parents’ conviction that even this tenacious but relatively small protest matters as well as the morale-boosting boosts.
What’s happening is so horrible, said another parent, Alberto, who was upset about the idea of just being an onlooker. “I’m just pleased that we’ve continued,” she said. I’m able to be flexible while studying for civil service exams, but it’s difficult to do this while working or having other commitments every day. However, I believe that we must do it in order to maintain our values.
Spain is one of only a few European countries that has consistently criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and shown support for Palestine.
Spain supported the Palestinian state in May 2024, along with Ireland and Norway, and it supported the international court of justice’s decision to hear a case involving Israel’s genocide.
Spain was the only nation to call for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be suspended after the European Union’s most recent report on Gaza was released this week, and its foreign minister demanded an arms embargo.
