'When I’m in Derry I feel like I am home' - Palestinian activist tells Bloody Sunday rally

Huda Ammori, who was one of the Elbit Eight, told those gathered that being in Derry felt like coming home because of the strong ties with Palestine and the dedication to resisting oppression.

Earlier the names of the 14 innocent men and boys whose lives were claimed when paratroopers opened fire in the Bogside on January 30, 1972, and those who were injured that day were read out from the stage.

Kate Nash, whose brother Willie was killed on Bloody Sunday and whose father Alex was shot and wounded as he tried to reach his dying son, said the Minute’s Silence was for all the families, with a particular focus on Gerard Donaghey and the children of Palestine and elsewhere who were suffering. Kate Nash also mentioned the Noah Donohoe case as being close to everyone’s heart.

Paddy Nash led a rendition of the civil rights anthem ‘We Shall Overcome’ from the stage.

Huda Ammori said the dedication of the march to Palestine meant so much to her and to the Palestinian people.

"As a Palestinian, I feel honoured to be in Derry speaking on the 52th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. And even though I may not be in my homeland today, when I’m in Derry I feel like I am home, because I know the people of Derry stand with Palestine, I know they will always stand with Palestine and I know they will never welcome collaborators with the Zionist regime.

"52 years ago the British occupying forces slaughtered 14 of your own for rising up against the occupation. Those same occupying forces asassinated my grandad for rising up against the British colonisation of Palestine in 1936. The British signed away the land of Palestine in 1917, they colonised our lands and then they armed and trained the Zionist militia to commit a Nakba, to displace over 750,000 Palestinians in 1948, over half the indigenous population.”

Speaking out against the arms industry, Huda Ammori said weapons were used in Gaza and then marketed as ‘battle tested’. She also praised those who had taken direct action in Derry against arms firms.

Those gathered were told that the people would resist in the name of the many thousands that have been killed.

Geraldine Doherty, Gerard Donaghey’s niece, took to the mic and said it was ‘sad’ but ‘heartwarming’ to see so many people attending the march on Sunday.

"It is sad because it is more than half a century since British troops committed this massacre on these streets. Innocent children like my murdered uncle Gerard and hundreds of others as well are still being denied justice.

"It is sad because the institutions of the British state have chosen yet again to close their books rather than acknowledge their guilt and make full and proper atonement for the wrong they have done, for the harm they have caused. They are running away from the truth, but the truth will find them out.”

“The British government cannot be allowed to close down Legacy investigations, be they in Derry, Belfast or anywhere on this island.”

Geraldine Doherty said the legacy of Bloody Sunday has been “one of trauma” for Derry and for Ireland, and that that pain still remains.

"The Conflict here hurt so many families, so many of them never to recover. The mental anguish caused by events like Bloody Sunday created further conflict and death and long-term post-traumatic damage such as depression and addiction and divided families. But while the people of Derry were battered and imprisoned, we were never broken. Because of our determination Derry is today largely a free city which has rediscovered its confidence, which has rediscovered its voice and we are using that voice today to say we oppose the murder of children and women and men, and we stand with the people of Palestine.”