The Famine Walk 2024 - Remembrance & Solidarity

This year, we dedicate the Famine Walk to highlighting and standing against genocide in Palestine. Just as Niall O’Brien highlighted the deliberate starvation of the Irish people, we want to shed light on the ongoing apartheid and colonialism to which Palestine is being subjected. Israel’s brutal bombardment and occupation, the use of imposed starvation and the countless other forms of violence being committed against the Palestinians, are unconscionable. For this Famine Walk, we want to promote action. We know the hearts and minds of the Irish people are with Palestine, but we need our government to put these feelings into political action. In the future, our actions, or lack thereof, will record us as people of courage and action, or as complicit. In the words of Malala, “there’s a moment when you have to choose to be silent or stand up’.
During An Gorta Mór, more than 26 million bushels of grain were exported from Ireland to England. We must never forget the million people who died from starvation or hunger related diseases and more than a million forcibly displaced at the hands of colonial rule. This experience deepens our empathy with people who have faced great injustices since then, including the horrors of the Holocaust and the abomination of the Nakba.
The Famine Walk gives us an opportunity to commemorate, learn and act. It is a poignant journey echoing the past and striving for a more peaceful future, giving us an opportunity to stand for humanity and against injustice. Let’s walk together with purpose and determination.
Faten Sourani is a lawyer and advocate for human rights and social justice, with a particular focus on the rights of the Palestinian people. Coming from the Gaza Strip, Faten has pursued her studies and professional endeavors in Galway and Dublin. Over the past few years, she has collaborated with dedicated individuals in the felds of international law, human rights research, and advocacy to amplify the voices of those affected by confict and oppression in the MENA region. Currently, she supports the work of the NGO Front Line Defenders by supporting human rights defenders in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Donal O’Kelly is a Dublin-born writer, performer and activist who has been involved in many Afri projects over the years since the Dunnes Stores anti-apartheid strike in Dublin in 1984. He considers the genocidal attack on the Palestinian people a culmination of the repressive forces operating since then, such as the arms industry of the rich white world, the beneficiary in money and political infuence of the slaughter in Gaza. He is writing a book on twenty-five years of Direct Provision in Ireland and the criminalisation of migration.
The brilliant Irish-Palestinian artist Roisin El Cherif hails from Galway and draws influence from Tracy Chapman, Stevie Nicks and Daughter to create a sound that blurs the boundaries between folk, country and indie-pop. She recently sang at the National day of Action for Palestine in Dublin and also at the ‘Artists for Palestine’ concerts in the Olympia and the 3 Arena last year.
For over four decades Afri has been involved in opposing war, promoting food sovereignty and tackling climate change - working especially with Secondary and Third level students as well as with the general public. We organise the annual Famine Walk in Mayo, a Hedge School in TU Blanchardstown and Féile Bríde in Kildare. Thank you for continuing to support our work.
www.afri.ie

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Lovely video, thanks for sharing. In solidarity with the people of Palestine ❤