For the second Sunday in a row, a small group of Terrace residents gathered in front of city hall displaying signs calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and surrounding area.
A small sound system played songs such as John Lennon’s ‘Give Peace a Chance’ and ‘Ohio,’ a tribute by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to the four Kent State University students shot and killed in 1970 by members of the Ohio National Guard.
“It’s great to see people here today,” said Flo Schade of the more than 15 people who gathered at city hall the afternoon of Oct. 29.
It was Schade who put out the call on social media for a first gathering Oct. 22, having no expectations of who would join her.
Too many people, especially children, have been killed since Oct. 7 when Hamas fighters broke through security barriers killing Israelis followed by intensive and ongoing missile and bomb strikes in Gaza, she said.
Schade said she was disappointed Canada has yet to call for an immediate ceasefire and then abstained from a United Nations General Assembly resolution Oct. 27 calling for a truce leading to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A truce is seen as a first step to increasing the number of aid trucks now entering Gaza following a complete blockade by Israel.
The General Assembly also rejected a Canadian amendment, supported by the United States, to condemn the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
“There are a lot of ideas about what should happen but first we need to impress upon our leaders the need for a ceasefire,” said Schade.
Only then could conditions begin to be put in place leading toward self-determination of peoples in the region, she added.
Schade also focused on the situation in Canada, saying there has to be a de-escalation of anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic actions and activities following an increase in both since hostilities broke out.
“We need our communities to come together,” she said.
Schade said it was impossible to determine how long it might take until there is a ceasefire but that she and others will be returning to city hall every Sunday.
“When it gets too cold out then we’ll go to an indoor space,” she said.