Handala: For the Children of Gaza Explained
In 2023 and 2024, ‘Handala’ sailed to ports across northern Europe and the UK, breaking through the media blockade, engaging the public, and building solidarity. The voya
ge included press events, art installations, and political education in every port.
The mission centers the children of Gaza who make up around 50% of the population and have borne the brunt of the Israeli military’s brutal campaign. For over 17 years, the blockade has denied them access to education, healthcare, freedom of movement, and a future. Since October 2023, that long slow destruction has become an outright massacre. Every week hundreds of children have been killed, and continue to be killed.
We share the words of Palestinian-American poet Zeina Azzam:
“Write My Name on My Leg, Mama.”
By Zeina Azzam
Write my name on my leg, Mama
Use the black permanent marker
with the ink that doesn’t bleed
if it gets wet […]
Write my name on my leg, Mama
and on the legs of my sisters and brothers.
This way we will belong together
This way we will be known as your children.
Write my name on my leg, Mama
When the bomb hits our house
When the walls crush our skulls and bones
our legs will tell our story, how
there was nowhere for us to run.
Looking Ahead to 2025
Plans are underway for new actions and growing international coalitions of human rights defenders ready to sail in solidarity. The Freedom Flotilla will continue to challenge the blockade, amplify Palestinian voices, and expose the complicity of governments and corporations enabling genocide.
Read more about Handala’s port visits here. Join us! Break the blockade! Stand with Palestine!
