Cork mother fasting for Gaza demands block on US military planes using Shannon
Eve Are A In Who Ceasefire Calling With Protesters Gaza Fellow O'riordan, Left, For
A Cork mother who organised a fast in solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza has called on the Government to block US military planes from Shannon and to boycott US St Patrick’s Day celebrations until military support is pulled from Israel.
Eve O’Riordan was one of three people who fasted throughout orange weather warnings outside Cork City Hall this week to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli invasion has already killed more than 21,000 people, many of them children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
“As I sat outside City Hall into the small hours of the night, the city got very quiet," Ms O’Riordan said.
"I kept thinking of the people of Gaza and how it must feel trying to sleep at night not knowing if it would be your last night alive. Trying to sleep with that on your mind, while hunger gnaws at your stomach, I can’t even imagine how awful it must feel.
“I got to sit down on Christmas Day with my mum and my daughter and hug them both, and feel so privileged to be able to do that.
“In conscience, I couldn’t do that on Stephen’s Day, I had to sit with the people of Palestine; they are our brothers and sisters as well.”
Ms O’Riordan said that the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign (CPSC) is planning another fast and on Saturday, a march is planned in Cork city, leaving from the Grand Parade at 1pm.
“We’ll keep on pushing until something is done,” she said.
Ms O’Riordan and the CPSC are calling on the Irish Government to pressure the United States to stop providing Israel with military assistance.
“We’re beyond horrified that the Irish Government is still letting the US transport arms through Shannon while it’s supporting such horrific war crimes,” Ms O’Riordan said.
“We’re also urging Leo Varadkar to tell Joe Biden that he cannot, in good conscience, visit the US on St Patrick’s Day.
“Ireland also needs to put our own direct pressure on Israel. The Government must start by passing the Occupied Territories Bill. And we, the people, can all play a role by getting involved in the peaceful Boycott Divest Sanctions, or BDS, movement.”
The group fasting had support from people in Cork this week, with some 100 people dropping by and people from locations as remote as the Outer Hebrides joining in the fast from abroad.
Despite an orange weather warning and torrential rain, the group sat outside City Hall from 10am on St Stephen’s Day to 10am on Wednesday.
Empty dinner plates, knives, and forks placed on a Palestinian flag and shawl outside City Hall symbolised the homes all over Gaza now devoid of food and clean water.
The international human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, has said that the Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime.