By Robert Leslie.
This Saturday, 11th July, in addition to the regular vigil, Amnesty Orkney Group, again along with Orkney Friends of Palestine, is holding a kite festival in solidarity with the Palestinian village of Burin, just outside Nablus in the West Bank.
The Orkney event takes place at the Peedie Sea at 2.30pm.
Nadia Heath explained:
“Burin is an agricultural area known for its olive production. Settlements encroach on almost every side, and flying kites is an act of resistance. This is why Burin holds a kite festival annually for the local community to join together in joy and resistance.
“Our event at the Peedie Sea on Saturday is to show solidarity with these brave folk. The organiser of the Burin festival, a man called Ghassan, has been arrested twice for putting on the kite festival. In one recent event, three kites were shot down by Israeli settlers. Unfortunately these instances of settler violence and state repression are not new for Ghassan or the other residents of Burin.
“However, they remain positive, and in promoting their kite festival, the organisers say: ‘We have the right to smile, we have the right to have fun. We have the right to be happy, we have the right to play, we have the right to move. From the Burin mountains to the sands of Gaza they will not kill our hope and our smiles.’
“That is such a powerful statement and our vigils and special events such as Saturday’s kite flying, are aimed at keeping the plight of the people in Gaza and the West Bank in the public consciousness. We look forward to seeing as many kites as possible on Saturday.”
Full details of the kite event, and other Amnesty Orkney activities, can be found on the Amnesty Orkney Facebook page.
Images by Mike Robertson from the kite festival held in Sanday in 2024.
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