Families across Wales encouraged to fly kites for Gaza children after Israeli threat

Nation Cymru staff

Welsh families are being urged to fly kites this weekend in solidarity with children in Gaza after Israel’s defence minister warned that kites drifting into Israel would be “treated like drones”.

The minister also threatened “forceful action”, according to campaigners, who say the comments have caused fear among families in Gaza where kite flying is a popular children’s pastime.

In 2011, thousands of Palestinian children gathered on a Gaza beach to set the world record for the biggest ever kite flight. The record remains unbroken.

Families across Wales will join a global weekend of action, with events planned in Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Swansea.

Madeleine McGivern of Welsh Women For Gaza who is helping organise a Cardiff event said:

“Every child deserves to have a childhood. To play, to laugh, to run, to look up to the sky with their paper and string and see only joy through flying their kites. Instead, now in Gaza the skies are full of terror.”

“We’ve seen videos of children destroying their kites in fear and it’s heartbreaking. We know that joy, community, creativity and play is what childhood should be about – and Israel know that too, which is why they’ve threatened children if they fly their kites.”

“We won’t let it go unnoticed – people need to know and understand that there are Israeli politicians opening threatening children with assassination if they fly a kite. This is whilst the UK Government is still supplying arms to Israel.”

The Cardiff event will take place outside Cardiff Castle on Sunday, September 13, from 11am to 12.30pm. Families can bring their own kites or decorate ones provided by organisers. Singing, drumming, poetry, tea and cake are also planned, with local politicians expected to attend.

Adam Johannes of Cardiff Stop the War Coalition said the kite had become a symbol of what children in Gaza were being denied.

He shared: “A kite is such a simple thing. A child runs, lets go of the string and watches something they have made rise into the sky. Childhood is supposed to contain these moments of play, curiosity and laughter, without constantly calculating where danger might come from.”

He said the impact of war on children went beyond physical injuries:

“Trauma is what happens when we are exposed to circumstances that overwhelm our capacity to feel safe and secure. When homes, schools, playgrounds and families are destroyed, a child’s relationship with the world becomes shaped by fear.”

He added: “The sky, which should evoke wonder, becomes associated with danger. A kite, which should mean play, becomes something that must be hidden or destroyed.”

“This is what it means to steal a childhood.”

Events planned by Palestine solidarity and peace groups as part of the Global Gaza Kite Weekend include:

Aberystwyth: South Beach, Saturday, September 12, 2pm.

Cardiff: Outside Cardiff Castle, Sunday, September 13, 11am–12.30pm.

Swansea: Secret Beach Bar & Kitchen, Mumbles Road, Sunday, September 13, 10.30am–1pm.

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