“To quote famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish: ”The impact of the butterfly never goes; the impact of the butterfly never vanish (SIC)…And now I understand what he meant.
“These little souls — butterflies— will fight the same way we are doing. They are the next freedom fighter generation, and they will reveal freedom, justice and equality for everyone.“
So said Palestinian activist Manal Tamimi who was speaking at the launch at the Butterfly Souls exhibition, which aims to honour the many children’s lives lost during the deadly ongoing conflict in Gaza by creating colourful butterflies to memorialise them.
The launch, which took place at the Desmond and Leah Tutu House last Wednesday, was a partnership project by the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and 2 Suns Shamsaan, a South African charity working on Palestine projects.
People who attended, young and old, coloured and decorated butterflies and stuck them up on the wall to show resistance to the genocide and to stand in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza.
The butterflies were added to an exhibition at the foundation which featured many more butterflies and messages of encouragement from South African children to those in Palestine.
The head of 2 Suns Shaamsaan, Nadia Meer, said the organisation has a list of names of over 16 000 children who have died, and the project was a gesture to honour these children and “grieve those small lives”.
“Those children had dreams that were ripped away from them. This campaign has to go on — the killings are not stopping. We would love for more communities to do this — not just the butterflies, but to have the names of the young ones flying across the country.”
Ms Tamimi said living in Palestine under occupation, they have never seen a genocide like this. She said 39 000 people have been killed in Gaza, and people are experiencing starvation, malnutrition and loss of belongings, among other trauma.
“We are not numbers, we are not just statistics — we are talking about thousands of lives. We try to teach the children to stay human and our fight is not against religion, its humanity against ethnic cleansing.
“We are not human beings if we are not fighting for humanity. We can’t act like it’s none of our business.”
Speaking at the launch, Yazan Abudaqqa, son of Palestinian cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed in the Gaza Strip while documenting the conflict in December last year, said his father was very active in Gaza and that’s why the Israeli army targetted him.
“He wasn’t just a father, he was a brother, a friend — he was everything. My father was generous and kind and he shared his food with others who were starving.”
He said his father had received citizenship in Belguim, but chose to stay in Gaza.
“He said he was the eyes and the voice for the children — ‘if I don’t document it, who is going to?’
“My father didn’t have weapons, he wasn’t a fighter, but he had his camera which was very important to show the crimes the Israeli committed in Gaza. Despite his death, he has his sons that will speak for him and be his voice.“
Programme manager at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, Charlene Houston, said the late Arch always encouraged South Africa to dream, and the world will be different to what it was.
“Let’s dream that little girls and boys in Gaza will know the safety of home, the freedom to learn, laugh end enjoy good food. Imagine in South Africa that little girls and boys grow up with love and are always treated like royalty, where they freely play in neighbourhoods.
“Today we honour the lives of children who have left us too soon. We are doing this because too many children are dying in war. These deaths are painful because they are preventable, war is preventable.
“Your struggle is our struggle and we can only be human together.”
Ms Tamimi and Mr Abudaqqa said visiting South Africa made them confident that the way South Africa was liberated from Apartheid, Palestine too will be liberated.
“Sharing my story makes me more confident that the way. This makes me look forward to the day that we will share our freedom,” said Ms Tamimi.
The Butterfly Souls exhibition will be up at the Tutu House until Monday August 12, which marks International Youth Day.
