Health warning: Don't be a casualty of BBC drama

BBC drama Casualty's take on masking during a pandemic: How dare you angsty patients [women] come into our hospitals wearing those scary respirators [unavailable to NHS workers] and trigger trauma in medics which was never resolved because everyone [except a few pathetic sheep] consented to pretend the thing that caused the trauma went away.

The recent episode of Casualty was a pro-harm, ableist attack on the clinically vulnerable/covid informed (minority) community. A work of pure gaslighting fiction, bereft of truth, compassion or integrity. The unbridled hostility and derision towards vulnerable people trying to access healthcare safely - in an ongoing airborne pandemic - felt cruel & painful to watch.

Two people close to me were killed directly & indirectly by SARS-CoV-2 infections acquired in hospitals - from unmasked healthcare workers. I've written several articles documenting just some of the heartbreaking stories in my inbox from vulnerable patients being forcibly infected with SARS2 - by medics whose job it is to DO NO HARM. 

Such as, 4 year old Jess, who was hospitalised with RSV in December, following a covid infection forced on her by a doctor who refused to mask during a routine outpatients appointment. Her mother's pleas were met with patronising disdain & veiled threats of being reported to social services - for asking a coughing doctor to mask up to protect her child. Jess has been constantly sick since being infected with SARS-CoV-2. She now has Long Covid & has gone from being a bouncy, happy social kid to a lethargic, achy, grumpy shadow of her former self. A childhood lost due to harm caused, in my view, by medical negligence.

SARS-CoV-2 is still killing. Since testing has all but stopped, numbers are likely considerably higher than reported. Whilst vaccines have helped reduce hospitalisations & deaths, they don't prevent infections. Long Covid & post Covid sequelae are a growing concern as we enter year 5 of the ongoing pandemic.

Denial & fear avoidance is harmful to health & wellbeing. Accepting & adapting to reality/science will protect you, your family & community. That requires adjustments: Masking indoors, socialising outdoors, cleaning the air, testing & isolating when sick. Without government support, these protections are beyond the reach of many. The right to health & life confined to those who can afford to buy them.

Having this scientific knowledge & knowing the government's plan is mass, forced infections, fear & anxiety are rational responses. Misrepresenting scientific facts and pathologising knowledge, compassion & rational fear, as BBC Casualty does, puts us all at risk, but clinically vulnerable patients & staff disproportionately so. Be it attacks in the street or being bullied by traumatised health care workers, triggered by masks.

As I wrote in a recent article, "Fear is a self-preserving emotion, enabling us to detect and react to hazards, crucial for survival. Fear drives adaptive behaviours aimed at escaping the source of danger. Fear avoidance leads to denialism, which is irrational. It involves the refusal to accept an empirically verifiable reality: the pandemic is not over. The threat remains & is made greater by media misinformation

If you value your health & life & that of your family, follow the science, not the herd.

Please read the brilliant rebuttal thread by Clinically Vulnerable Families which has a link to BBC complaints (complaints really do make a difference & worth the time/energy) 👇

https://twitter.com/cv_cev/status/1768180056130527361

Bearing witness: The fourth estate's role in maintaining a healthy, functioning democracy is to scrutinise evidence in pursuit of truth & holding power to account. Those of you who feel able to send me your stories documenting your experiences accessing healthcare (UK & Ireland), particularly since the removal of masks, I promise to send them to all the main print & broadcast editors in the respective  country, along with links to the scientific evidence cited below. You can post them in comments below or email me directly: tflees26@gmail.com🙏

Masks Work

"The evidence shows a good ffp3 mask stops you getting covid" Dr Rachel Clarke, NHS doctor whose book was turned into a recent ITV drama Breathtaking. 

In her interviews, Dr Clarke warned that covid is still here & staff  STILL do not have access to proper PPE. She called on government to provide ffp3 respirators to healthcare workers now. She also raises awareness that over 850 health & care workers died of covid at work  early on (staff are not being tested now: No data = no evidence = limited legal recourse & no accountability). NHS staff remain traumatised, many of whom have been disabled by Long Covid, with numbers growing constantly. 

I came across the Breathtaking behind the scenes footage (below) reportedly filmed between April-May 2023 - after mask mandates were lifted in some hospitals. Extraordinary that film/TV production companies provided better quality masks for crew filming a drama about SARS2 overwhelming the NHS than was/is available to actual overwhelmed NHS staff working in SARS-CoV-2 filled hospitals. Health & Care workers' trauma is being exploited by political/institutional misinformation & media complicity 😪💔

 The producers know respirators work. Infections = delays = costs👇

Dr Clarke on set👇

Facts for healthcare professionals, health correspondents & Casualty script writers

The most recent data from Wales (18 February) shows 67% of inpatient covid cases were the result of nosocomial (hospital acquired) infection, which have a circa 10% mortality rate.

SARS-CoV-2 is a level 3 airborne biohazard. Snug fitting respirators (ffp2/3, N95s), ventilation and HEPA filtration are effective in preventing all airborne infections, including SARS2

Vaccines help prevent death & hospitalisation but they don't prevent infections, Long Covid and post-covid sequalae. Immunity from infection & vaccines wanes.

Herd immunity doesn't exist. However, hundreds of studies do exist showing that repeated infections cause cumulative harm. According to the WHO, 1 in 10 infections results in Long Covid, a chronic, disabling disease for which there's no cure and negligible understanding within the medical profession. 

Around 50- 60% of transmission is pre or asymptomatic, which is why testing & universal mask mandates are essential in health care settings. Both of which have been jettisoned against WHO, BMA & RCN advice. Many healthcare professionals now work with vulnerable patients even when symptomatic.

SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to cause neurological & brain damage, linked to neuro-psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Repeat SARS2 infections damage mental, as well as physical health. 

Universal masking in healthcare is WHO policy - pandemic not over: (2) Cat in the Hat   on X: "Back when we still did routine testing in hospitals, data showed that ~30% of patients in hospital with Covid caught it whilst they were there. It will almost certainly be worse now… …but we can no longer track this metric as the data is no longer reported. https://t.co/mkPtxeQwLM" / X (twitter.com)  

Maria Van Kerkhove: Covid cases likely up to 20 times higher than reported, so little surveillance, remains global threat: Be smart: avoid infection & spread: (2) Maria Van Kerkhove on X: ". #COVID19 is still a global threat & we can’t wish it away What to do: Limit your exposure as much as you can. Test, mask, ventilate, get boosted/vaccinated… If you get (re)infected: limit contact with others, mask, ventilate to prevent onward spread; seek medical care…" / X (twitter.com)

World expert, Dr Zalaly Aly on his Long Covid research (burden of disease on a par with cancer & heart disease): (2) Dr. Lucky Tran on X: ""The burden of disease and disability from Long COVID is on par with the burden of cancer and heart disease. The best way to prevent Long COVID is to prevent COVID in the first place. There is no Long COVID without COVID." Brilliant testimony by @zalaly! #HELPLongCovid https://t.co/Cw24Eg8TiJ" / X (twitter.com)

BMA Long Covid survey: Drs suffering with long covid: Disabled, unable to work & suicidal : First major survey of doctors with Long Covid reveals debilitating impact on health, life and work - BMA media centre - BMA 

The first "S" in SARS2 means "severe", it's never mild, even if it feels that way in the acute phase. Just one of many studies showing brain damage caused by "mild" Covid:  Long Covid: Even mild Covid is linked to damage to the brain months after infection (nbcnews.com)

Long Covid expert, Dr Rae Duncan on BBC Scotland recently on risks of repeated SARS2 infections: https://youtu.be/5kE5UCV1XE4

Around 2m people in the UK suffer from Long Covid, a disease for which there's no cure & very little understanding within the medical profession. Numbers are no longer being counted.

See Lit Covid data base to access SARS-CoV-2 studies, so far 403, 904 & growing almost weekly. How many have you read about in the MSM?. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/

Zero studies exist showing SARS-CoV-2 infections are harmless/safe/benign

Useful thread with links to studies documenting damage SARS-CoV-2 does to various body systems & organs: What SARS-CoV-2 Does to the Body (3rd Edition, December 2023) (panaccindex.info)

 

Co-writer, Jed Mercurio's twitter background pic - on Call of Duty set👇 Interesting choice 😷

SARS-CoV-2 is not a cold & it's not the flu. Protect your health: Stay informed. 

Fact: SARS-C0V-2 is a level 3 airborne biohazard. Don't share indoor air.

Gaza protest outside Leinster House (Dublin) THIS EVENING in support of Seanad Motion

Press Release, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Wednesday 21st February, 3pm

To show support for this evening’s Seanad motion calling for sanctions on Israel moved by the Civil Engagement Group, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign will hold a protest outside Leinster House on Kildare Street from 6pm to 7pm THIS EVENING Wednesday 21st February.

This evening the Irish Seanad is due to vote on a comprehensive motion calling on the Irish government to, among other things: impose sanctions on Israel; enact the Occupied Territories Bill and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill; to actively ensure no US weapons are being sent to Israel through Irish airspace; and to push for an international arms embargo on Israel.

The photo and film friendly protest will feature 8 foot high boards featuring photos of the leaders of the government parties and the results of a recent Ireland Thinks poll showing that 79% of Irish people say that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Speakers at the protest will call on the Irish government to 'Listen to the People' and take real action to help end Israel's genocidal war on Gaza - including imposing sanctions, breaking diplomatic relations, and imposing an arms embargo on Israel. Speakers will include Senators Frances Black and Alice Mary Higgins.

Speaking ahead of the protest, IPSC Vice Chair Fatin Al Tamimi, whose sister remains trapped in Gaza, said: 'We demand that the government listen to the people that it's supposed to represent. Almost 80% people in Ireland understand that what's happening to my people in Gaza is a barbaric genocide. Other recent polls have shown that huge majorities recognise that Israel is committing the Crime of Apartheid and are demanding sanctions.

Ms Tamimi continued: “Although the Seanad has no power to enforce this motion, it is still vitally important that it passes in order to increase the pressure on the government to take action. Even Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stated that Israel is not ‘a normal, liberal, western democracy’. We fully agree! Now the time for ‘reflection’, ‘debate’, ‘consideration’ and all the rest is over – it’s time for action!’

ENDS

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Brian Hegarty, IPSC Media Officer: 085 142 3741

"It's not the waking, it's the rising"

 Hozier 💪

National Demonstration for Palestine to take place in Dublin TODAY Saturday 17 February

March part of a global day of action calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal war

Press Release, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, 16^th February 2024

TODAy Saturday 17^th February the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by more than 100 Irish civil society groups, is holding a National Demonstration for Palestine – calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal assault on the people of Gaza, and for the Irish government to take action to hold Israel accountable. It will be the fourth such national mobilisation since October - last month's march saw over 100,000 flood Dublin's streets - and is part of a global day of action that will see millions protesting around the world.

Protestors will assemble at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square, and will march from there to the Department of Foreign Affairs on St. Stephen’s Green for a rally.

Speakers at the rally will include IPSC Chairperson Zoe Lawlor, former Irish rugby international Trevor Hogan, Irish-Palestinian doctor Abdallah Al Bayyari, Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Dunnes Stores anti-apartheid striker Karen Gearon, and Dina, a Palestinian woman from Gaza.

There will also be musical performances by renowned Palestinian-Irish singer Roisin El Cheriff, and ballad singer Fieldsy who will perform ‘The Fields of Palestine’. Fatin Al Tamimi, Vice-Chair of the IPSC will MC the event.

IPSC Chairperson Zoe Lawlor said: “Recent polls are clear – the people of Ireland stand firmly behind the people of Palestine. 80% know they are seeing genocide unfold. 70% know Israel is an apartheid state. And 70% want sanctions! Even Simon Coveney this week called Israel a ‘rogue state’. We’ve been saying this for over twenty years and the time for 'reflection', 'debate', 'consideration' and hand-sitting is over - it's time for action! The government must sanction Israel, it must end the bilateral arms trade, must implement the Occupied Territories Bill and the Illegal Israeli Divestment Bill, break diplomatic relations, push for the termination of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and join South Africa’s Gaza genocide case at the ICJ. Governments are supposed to reflect the will of the public, it’s time to listen to the people and act to end this live-streamed genocide!”

IPSC Vice-Chair, Fatin Al Tamimi, whose family members remain trapped in Gaza said: “The last national march for Palestine saw over 100,000 take to the streets of Dublin. This march is part of global day of action when millions all over the world will hit the streets – and we are seeing ever more people and groups joining us to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people, opposition to Israel’s genocide, and to call for action by the Irish government. We are filling the streets with hope, love and meaningful solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Palestine, especially those in Gaza!”

Karen Gearon, who was the shop steward of the 1984 Dunnes Stores Anti-Apartheid Strike said: "We were nine young women and one young man who forced the Irish government to ban South African produce because of the apartheid system. We were the first country in the western world to do so.  What is happening now and for the past 75 years to the people of Palestine is apartheid, and it is the State of Israel that is committing these horrific war crimes, genocide, and the attempted extermination of the Palestinian people has to stop now! I am calling on people and governments to boycott Israeli goods and services, I am calling on the Irish government to immediately expel the Israeli ambassador and to cut all diplomatic ties with the state of Israel! I am also calling on the trade union movement to take a stronger stance by calling on their members to refuse to handle Israeli produce, goods or services. This will send a signal that Ireland stands with the people of Palestine just as we stood with the black people of South Africa in the 1980s."

Ricahrd Boyd Barrett TD said: "“After four months of a genocidal massacre in Gaza, Israel is intending yet another barbaric slaughter in Rafah! Israel can only contemplate this horror because Western governments, including the EU and our government, refuse to impose any sanctions on Israel. In opposition to this inaction, we are seeing enormous numbers of ordinary people on the streets of Dublin, and across the world, demanding that Israel’s impunity for its horrific crimes be ended, and that meaningful sanctions are finally imposed on this murderous apartheid regime!”

Former Irish rugby international Trevor Hogan, speaking on behalf of Irish Sport for Palestine, said: "With every single person on the streets we are showing the Palestinian people that we are still with them and we will never give up on them!"

Dr. Abdallah Al Bayyari said: "Though at times we may feel hopeless, the tides are turning, we will have our say," while Roisin El Cheriff said she wanted to see the Irish government "place sanctions on Israel," and called for a "boycott and suspension of all academic and medical ties to Israel."

ENDS

Notes for Editors

* In addition to the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the full list of 110 organisations that have endorsed the march are:

Supported by Trade Union Friends of Palestine, Gaza Action Ireland, Academics for Palestine, Irish Football Fans Against Israeli Apartheid, Irish Lawyers for Palestine, Comhlámh Justice for Palestine, Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland, Kairos Ireland, Lawyers Against Racism, The People’s Movement, Ireland Palestine Mental Health Network, Sadaka – The Ireland-Palestine Alliance, Psychologists for Palestine, Teachers for Palestine, Afri – Action from Ireland, Bloody Sunday Trust, Bray & District Council of Trade Unions, Centre for Global Education, Comhlámh, Communincation Workers Union, Community Action Tenants Union – CATU, Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Dublin 4 Gaza, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Ecojustice Ireland, Financial Justice Ireland, Greystones Against Genocide, Industrial Workers of the World – Ireland, Irish Anti-War Movement, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Irish Health Care Workers for Palestine, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, Irish Pakistani Community Network, Irish Sport for Palestine, Kashmir Peace and Solidarity Council Ireland, Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, Mullingar 4 All, National Women’s Council of Ireland, NCAD Students’ Union, PalFest Ireland, Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Peadar Brown’s Bar, Shannonwatch, TCD BDS Campaign, TCD Students’ Union, UCD Students’ Union, Cairde Palestine, Irish Artists for Palestine, Le Cheile – Diversity Not Division, Mothers Against Genocide, Teachers’ Union of Ireland, Mandate, Grandfathers Against Racism, Grandfathers Against Racism, Fórsa, Jews for Palestine – Ireland, Palestinian Rights Institute, Union of Students in Ireland, TUD Students’ Union, Dún Laoghaire for Palestine, Irish Social Workers and Social Care Workers for Palestine, East Wall Here for All, Cross-Cultural Conversations, Balbriggan Palestine Solidarity, Access for All Ireland, Drogheda Stands with Palestine, Monkstown Vigil for Palestine, United Against Racism, Trans & Intersex Pride, West Cork for Palestine, Friends of the Earth – Ireland, Adult Education Tutors for Palestine, Week at Work Podcast, Dublin Bay North for All, Trademark Belfast, Left Bloc, Kinvara Palestine Support Group, An Dream Dearg, Conradh Na Gaelige, Rosa Socialist Feminist Movement, Africa Centre, Dublin Ecofeminist Collective, Praxis Artists’ Union, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, SIPTU, Independent Workers’ Union, GCN – Gay Community News, National LGBT Federation, Slí Eile, National Animal Rights Association, Animal Rebellion Ireland, Climate Camp Ireland, Irish Second-Level Students’ Union, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, IKRAM UKE, Irish Farmers for Palestine, Killorglin 4 Palestine, World Beyond War, Waterford Ramallah Twinning Committee, Pals for Palestine, Dublin LGBTQ Pride, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Dublin Vegfest, Queers for Palestine Ireland, Postal Workers for Palestine, Cloughjordan Palestine Justice, Clare Solidarity Network and Gaels Against Genocide, and more to follow

ENDS

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Zoe Lawlor, IPSC Chair: 087 950 4397
Fatin Al Tamimi, IPSC Vice Chair: 086 026 7721
Betty Purcell, IPSC Media Team: 087 259 6003

For liaison with spokespeople/speakers on the day [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

Betty Purcell, IPSC Media Team: 087 259 6003
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Attachments area

Preview YouTube video THE FIELDS OF PALESTINE

THE FIELDS OF PALESTINE

Must watch: Outstanding BBC coverage of Long Covid. Anyone can get it, whether you're 5 or 105

Please watch this entire segment by one of the UK's leading experts on Long Covid, the brilliant, Dr Rae Duncan. There's a huge disconnect between what people on the street think SARS-CoV-2 is & what the science is telling us about this vascular, multi-organ damaging level 3 biohazard. Spoiler: It's all bad, "You have as much chance of getting it whether you're 5 or 105". Please listen & learn. It's never too late to protect yourself & your family from SARS2 & post/Long Covid. Mask up (ffp2/3/N95) & ventilate 💜

Fantastic twitter thread with links to some of the studies Dr Duncan refers to in her interview👇

https://twitter.com/_CatintheHat

Know Their Names

This is a list of the known names from more than 11,500 children killed during Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza 💔 This massacre must stop. For the sake of Palestinian children & people. In the name of humanity. Ceasefire & sanctions now

 

Israel suffers massive defeat in ICJ genocide case: Ceasefire & sanctions now

Owen Jones explainer👇

 

 

Why are we still waiting on healthcare mask mandates to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections?

 My article in todays' Indo. Huge thanks to my incredible editor, Tom Coogan. A dolphin in a sea of sharks😇🌟

https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/tess-finch-lees-why-are-we-still-waiting-on-a-healthcare-mask-mandate-to-deal-with-covid-over-to-you-minister/a144055388.html

Excerpts

"In Ireland, despite last year being the worst on record for hospital overcrowding and the resultant chaos that goes with that, the HSE’s chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry invoked infection prevention control (IPC) guidance, which put the burden of risk assessments on to individual healthcare settings. The same IPC guidance, the UK’s Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association have said, is now inconsistent with the WHO’s guidance on universal masking in healthcare.

Sars-CoV-2 transmission remains a global threat which requires decisive preventative action by governments at a national level. The HSE’s clinical lead in emergency medicine, Dr Gerry McCarthy, said recently that masks should be made mandatory in healthcare settings to curb the rise in Covid cases. The duty of care lies with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to act now"

"....Sars-CoV-2 is a level 3 biohazard which requires respiratory protective equipment for lab workers. Yet, since the removal of universal masking, healthcare workers elsewhere in hospitals are inhaling (becoming infected) and exhaling (infecting others) with the same biohazard, with no protection whatsoever. This surely contravenes the EC directive on the protection of workers from risks of exposure to biological agents....."

"Writing in the Los Angeles Times last week, renowned scientist Professor Eric Topol described the global response to the pandemic as “make believe”. He said: “There’s no getting over the pandemic until we recognise reality and double down on research that will allow us to block infections and achieve lasting, variant-proof immunity.”

In the meantime, we must use the tools that we have at our disposal. Starting with the immediate implementation of WHO guidance and mandating universal masking (ffp2/3) in healthcare".

Within the next few days I'll be publishing - here - the detailed letter I sent to my health insurer putting them on notice (backed by science/evidence that a) I do not consent to myself or my family being infected with a preventable level 3 biohazard whilst accessing facilities procured by them & b) we require a list of covid aware/safe healthcare practitioners & facilities. I will be sending it to my local hospital boards also. Sources included. Watch this space👍

The ONLY way to prevent long-COVID is to prevent getting infected with COVID in the first place

According to the WHO, around 1 in 10 infections result in long-Covid, a disabling, chronic condition, for which there's no cure. Anyone, including children, can get long-Covid. Vaccination may help but it doesn't prevent long-Covid. Risk increases with every infection. The only way to avoid long-Covid is to avoid getting infected with covid. How? For starters: Wear a snug fitting ffp2/3 respirator mask😷💜

Dr Ziyad Al Aly long-Covid researcher & specialist: "The burden of long-Covid is on a par with the burden of cancer & heart disease...... ".."There are zero approved medications for the treatment of long-Covid. Zero" 

Jordan's Long COVID story👇

Alicia's long COVID story👇

 

Children & teens are not immune from covid or long-Covid. Adults charged with their safety are exposing them to harm💔 If you're a parent, please join the community advocating for clean air in schools. As parents, our greatest duty, above all else, is protecting our children from harm. Specifically: being forcibly infected with a level 3 biohazard - in school.

Long COVID can present itself in many different ways - some symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Changes in smell or taste
• Chest pain
• Difficulty sleeping
• Anxiety or depression
• Headaches
• Cognitive dysfunction

COVID-19 infection also increases the risk of the following health conditions:

• Heart attacks, strokes or heart inflammation
• Blood clots in the lungs or elsewhere
• Diabetes or worsened control of existing diabetes
• Lung fibrosis or other lung problems
• Kidney damage
• Severe mental health issues

Brilliant Public Health messaging here from 

Victorian Department of Health

@VicGovDH

You can protect yourself & your loved ones from COVID with these 6 steps: Wear a mask Stay home if sick Test if you have symptoms Let fresh air in or meet outdoors Stay up to date with your vaccinations Talk to your GP about COVID medicines.

Global day of action for Palestine today: March from Garden of Remembrance (Ireland)

 National Demonstration for Palestine to take place in Dublin TODAY Saturday 13 January

March part of a global day of action calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal war

Press Release, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friday 12 January 2024, 4.45pm

Tomorrow, SATURDAY 13 JANUARY, there will be a National Demonstration for Palestine taking place in Dublin, organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supported by over 70 Irish civil society groups (full list below*). In what looks set to be the biggest Irish protest for Palestine in history, people will gather at 1pm at The Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square, and march to the Department of Foreign Affairs on St. Stephen’s Green.

The march is happening as part of global day of action calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza, and comes against the backdrop of the ICJ hearings on South Africa’s genocide filing against Israel.

Speakers on the day will include Senator Frances Black, Palestinian scholar Rania Muhareb, legendary social justice activist Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey, retired pro-boxer Tyrone McKenna, ICTU President Justin McCamphill, Palestinian activist Walaa Ajjawi, and IPSC Chairperson Zoe Lawlor.

Speaking ahead of the march, Zoe Lawlor, IPSC Chairperson said: “This march - endorsed by scores of Irish civil society organisations from trade unions to community groups - has been called as part of the Global Day of Action for Gaza, and we will make this the biggest Palestine solidarity demonstration in Irish history! We encourage everyone who has protested with us before, and everyone who hasn’t but is silently outraged to come to Dublin and march to show your anger and your grief – let’s make our demands for action from the Irish government unignorable! Let’s raise our collective voice to demand an immediate end to Israel’s genocidal war, an end to Israel’s regime of apartheid, and to call for sanctions on Israel now, and freedom and justice for the Palestinian people!”

IPSC Vice Chair Fatin Al Tamimi, whose family members remain trapped in Gaza, said: “The live-streamed genocide that is being allowed to happen in Gaza is horrendous beyond imagination, and yet the Irish government won’t act to punish Israel – not a single sanction, not a single change in foreign policy, just words, words and more yet meaningless words. It won’t join South Africa’s ICJ genocide filing, call for Israel to be prosecuted under the genocide convention or even name Israel’s system of oppression as ‘Apartheid’. The people of Ireland, not least Palestinian-Irish citizens like myself, demand so much better. I urge everyone who can to join our march this Saturday to make our voices heard. No more business as usual with the genocidal apartheid state of Israel!”

Notes for Editors

* In addition to the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the full list of organisations that have endorsed the march are:

Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Union of Students in Ireland, Le Cheile - Diversity Not Division, Jews for Palestine - Ireland, Academics for Palestine, Adult Education Tutors for Palestine, Afri - Action from Ireland, Bloody Sunday Trust, Bray & District Council of Trade Unions, Cairde Palestine, Centre for Global Education, Comhlámh, Comhlámh Justice for Palestine, Community Action Tenants Union - CATU, Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Cross-Cultural Conversations, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, East Wall Here for All, Ecojustice Ireland, Gaza Action Ireland, Ireland Palestine Mental Health Network, Irish Anti-War Movement, Irish Artists for Palestine, Irish Football Fans Against Israeli Apartheid, Irish National Teachers' Organisation, Irish School Student's Union, Irish Social Workers and Social Care Workers for Palestine, Irish Sport for Palestine, Irish Traveller Movement, Lawyers Against Racism, Mothers Against Genocide, Mullingar 4 All, National Women's Council of Ireland, Palestinian Rights Institute, PalFest Ireland, Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Phibsboro for All, Psychologists for Palestine, Sadaka - The Ireland-Palestine Alliance, Shannonwatch, Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland, Teachers' Union of Ireland, TCD BDS Campaign, TCD Students' Union, Teachers for Palestine, The People's Movement, Trade Union Friends of Palestine, UCD Students' Union, SIPTU, Unite the Union, Communication Workers Union, Friends of the Earth Ireland, Independent Workers' Union, Financial Justice Ireland, Praxis Artist Union, TUD Students' Union, Dublin 4 Gaza, Dublin Bay North for All, Balbriggan Palestine Solidarity, Access for All Ireland, Trademark Belfast, Left Bloc, Irish Lawyers for Palestine, Muslim Sisters of Eire, Mandate Trade Union, Kairos Ireland, Greystones Against Genocide, Dún Laoghaire for Palestine, Peadar Brown's Bar, Irish Pakistani Community Network, Kashmir Peace and Solidarity Council Ireland, Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, Energy Services Union, and NCAD Students' Union.

ENDS

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For advance comment, interview or promo [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

Zoe Lawlor, IPSC Chair: 087 950 4397
Fatin Al Tamimi, IPSC Vice Chair: 086 026 7721
Betty Purcell, IPSC Media Team: 087 259 6003

For liaison with spokespeople/speakers on the day [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

Betty Purcell, IPSC Media Team: 087 259 6003
Karen Moyhinan, IPSC Media Team: 085 754 7874

DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL - THIS ACCOUNT IS NOT MONITORED

The ICJ must Stop Israel's genocidal campaign & allow access for humanitarian aid

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh at the Hague yesterday presenting evidence - already in plain sight - of Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza. Next up, the UK & US....

 "The first genocide in history where it’s victims are broadcasting their destruction in real time in the desperate, so far vain hope, that the world might do something" 💔

UNICEF: "This is a war on children" 

"The world should be ashamed"

Evidence of Israel's genocidal intent👇

"The evidence of genocidal intent is not only chilling, it's also overwhelming & incontrovertible" 

Bombing Yemen, killing yet more innocents, was a willful act of provocation, moral bankruptcy, insanity & stupidity. War mongering is to go to dead cat for dead beat politicians. Power at any cost.

"Don't dissociate": 2024 looks set to be the year fantasy collides with reality. Buckle up.

New Year, new opportunities to help make the world a better place 💪💞

I've spent the past 2 weeks (Took time out over Christmas) reading & attempting to respond to messages from around the world in response to my last article about Jess, the 4 year old infected with SARS2 by her doctor and was hospitalised with RSV weeks later. Jess' case is not isolated. Messages were split predominately between healthcare workers' safety concerns & those of patients. All of whom share a fear of accessing healthcare facilities with absolutely no airborne protections in place. And, apart from being lone maskers, have no agency over their own safety.

Also in my inbox, the usual anti-maskers who want to give me a good kicking/slapping. They’re the same trolls whether I write about immigration, Brexit, genocide in Palestine & Sudan or masks. In the same way that not everyone who voted for Brexit was racist, all the racists likely voted for Brexit. Similarly, not all ant-maskers/science are racist but the racists do seem overwhelmingly anti-maskers and anti-science. Public health policy, like our streets, have been captured by far-right thugs.

Things must be bad because the WHO is worried: About rampant, uncontrolled transmission constantly spawning new, more immune escaping variants, such as JN1, worried that, even though we're currently experiencing one of the biggest all time pandemic surges, actual infections may be 2-19 times higher than reported. Since hardly any countries are testing, carrying out surveillance or reporting cases, the WHO cannot make accurate global assessments. Note to WHO: The decision to end the public health emergency of international concern (NOT the pandemic) enabled the dismantlement of surveillance systems. Note to world leaders: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. 

They're worried that repeat SARS2 infections might lead to cardiac, pulmonary, neurological impairment 5, 10, 20 years from now. There's still so much we don't know about this virus but what we do know is ALL bad. Very bad.

In recent days & weeks, the WHO has reminded the world that we remain in a SARS2 pandemic & issued guidance for universal masking in healthcare, as well as improved ventilation in crowded indoor spaces. How can that NOT include schools? It does. But where are the children's rights advocates? What has happened to parental duty, and feral instinct, to protect our kids from harm?

Parents, teachers, healthcare workers, mental health practitioners, public health advisors and opposition politicians, I know it's hard to tune into covid when you've tuned out for so long, but believe me when I tell you, it's not too late to start protecting yourself, your kids and your community. No matter how many infections you've had, you can limit further infections and potential for cumulative damage by wearing an ffp2/3 respirator mask (not the baggie blues) This incredible young woman nails it👇, Please watch & share widely🙏

"Don't dissociate" 💥🔥💓