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Members of Laois Palestine Solidarity Campaign at a march in Cork.
A Laois group supporting Palestine is calling for local TDs and the Government to do more to protect the country and it's citizens, and on national media for balanced reporting.
The Laois Palestine Solidarity Campaign (LPSC), made up of about 50 members, last weekend marched in Cork, where a weekly march has been held for 72 weeks.
They have attended similar marches in Dublin which are held monthly and at Shannon airport.
The group are calling for a boycott by politicians of St Patrick's Day in the USA, and a boycott on buying Israeli goods.
Some of the members of Laois IPSC attending the Palestine Solidarity march in Cork city on Saturday, February 22: Emily Durling Barrett, Derry Townsend, Faith Quille and Said Enaia.
LPSC member Faith Quille from Mountmellick spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
"Every time, we see more people carrying banners and chanting for justice we stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, emphasising the urgent need for global action.
"There are around 50 of us in the Laois IPSC group, all from different walks of life, ages and nationalities. We've all come together with the shared goal of showing solidarity with the Palestinian people, creating awareness and being the voice of the estimated 50,000 murdered Palestinians, 18,000 of whom were children.
"What we want the government to do, including our local elected representatives in the Dail, Willie Aird, Sean Fleming and Brian Stanley, is to enact the Occupied Territories Bill, save the Triple Lock and not to support or attend any St. Patrick's Day engagements with the United States," she said.
Laois County Council and a popular Laois choir are flying to New York for this year's parade.
She explained why she is personally motivated to protest.
"For me the call to action came from the images and videos that I saw online, mainly on social media. Photojournalists on the ground in Gaza, such as Motaz Azaiza and Bisan Owda were showing a completely different reality to what had been shown on our own national news and in other media outlets.
"When Motaz visited Ireland last August, a group of us from Laois IPSC attended his talk at Dalymount Stadium in Dublin. On that night, all of the names were read of the members of the press in Palestine who had been killed since October '23. The list at that time was almost 200 journalists and media workers, but this figure has grown again since. In my opinion, this shows a targeted effort to suppress the truth and extent of the genocide that is taking place," Ms Quille said.
She suggests ways that local people concerned for Palestine can take action.
"Laois people who are interested in supporting our group are welcome to join us at any action or follow our social media pages, but to support Palestine directly people may want to donate to charitable agencies providing much needed aid, such as Uisce for Gaza, Palestine Children's Relief Fund and the United Nations' UNRWA.
Read more: Laois Palestine fundraiser during Seachtaine na Gaeilge refused a mention in council brochure
"Another hugely important thing everybody can do is to boycott any Isreali products or any companies that fund genocide, the list of these companies are available on the BDS website (BDSmovement.net) or by using the 'No Thanks' app on your phone, which scans the barcode of an item and tells you its origin.
In an open letter, the LPSC has called on journalists and editors nationwide to address what it describes as biased and unequal media coverage of the ongoing hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas. They claim there is a "consistent use of language that dehumanizes Palestinians and misrepresents their experiences".
The LPSC claim that terms like "hostage" are used for Israeli captives, but Palestinians detained by Israel are referred to as "prisoners" or "detainees" in national Irish media.
Read also: Laois Minister welcomes evacuation of sick children from Gaza
They argue that "this language is misleading and does not reflect the unlawful and often brutal conditions in which Palestinians are held under Israel's policies of administrative detention, which are in violation of international law".
The group also criticized the media for "failing to cover Palestinian stories of torture, unlawful detention, and the ongoing breach of ceasefire agreements by Israel".
They say that the blockade of essential humanitarian aid to Gaza, including medical supplies, food, and basic living
necessities, "has received limited international condemnation".
Laois IPSC can be contacted through Instagram or Facebook, or on their email address info@ipsclaois.ie
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