The Red Line for Palestine - in Swansea

Ann Farr with campaigners on Saturday

On Saturday, members of Pax Christi, Sabeel-Kairos, Christians for Palestine, Swansea - Palestine Community Link, Oxfam, PSC and many others came together to join the Red Line for Palestine which came to Swansea.

More than three hundred people gathered at the Guildhall with Palestinian stalls, flags, music and speeches before the half kilometre of red cloth was unrolled and people took their places along both sides and prepared to walk through Swansea's streets on a busy Saturday. As they walked members of the public were invited to join in by taking hold of the cloth and so become part of the action. Hundreds of individual hands becoming one continuous action with one collective statement: 'Freedom for Palestine'.

The Red Line is a very long piece of cloth. It is a symbol. It is a movement and in a poignant and deeply moving action, everyone who is part of it is saying, "We are the Red Line".

The Walk was led by the Red Rebels, drummers and the Red Dragon of Wales. The very long line walked solemnly along St Helen's Road and Oxford Street and waited a while before silently approaching and passing a group in the grounds of St Mary's Church, reading the names of some of the Palestinian children killed in Gaza. A list of the children was displayed along with photographs.

Many shoppers also paused to read and to listen.

The Red Line continued, walking along the road beside Swansea Bay and back to the Guildhall.

The Guardians of the Red Line say: "The Red Line in a reminder of the boundaries that should never be crossed: the sanctity of human life, the horror of genocide, and the killing, destruction, displacement and suffering inflicted upon the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

"We have watched those red lines move, disappear- or be ignored altogether. So WE have become the Red Line.

"A red line that cannot be shifted by political convenience or pressure. A red line that says Palestinian lives matter, international law must mean something, and those responsible for atrocities must be held accountable.

"We will continue to stand together and call for justice, freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people."

Every person who took hold of the Red Line today and all those who walked with it or engaged with it in solidarity, have become part of the human red line made up of people who refuse to look away.

Thank you to all those who organised and took part in this powerful witness that made a strong statement in the City.
We remember: WE ARE THE RED LINE

Ann is a member of Pax Christ England and Wales, Working Group for Justice in Palestine and Israel.