KARACHI: In a display of solidarity with the children of Gaza, Pakistani students on Sunday took to Seaview Beach in the southern port city of Karachi to fly green, black, and red-colored kites, expressing their hope for the Palestinian children to experience the freedom to soar high.
The development came as Palestinians prepared for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid Israel’s continuing ground and air strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7.
The kite-flying event in Karachi was organized by the Insaaf o Aman Foundation charity, in collaboration with the United Kingdom-based initiative ‘Kites in Solidarity,’ to spotlight the plight of the people of Gaza, particularly children and women.
Dozens of Pakistani students and people from different walks of life paid a tribute to the Palestinian children and expressed their unwavering support for the people of Gaza in their struggle for their rights.
“We’re not going to forget about the children, women and men of Gaza,” Hania Anwar Sheikh, a 17-year-old A-level student and one of the organizers, told Arab News.
“I do hope that this small initiative sets off many other in our country, in our city and in the world at large, because we need to remind the world and each other of what is happening in Palestine.”
Kites are pictured in the sky in a display of solidarity with the children of Gaza during an event in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 10, 2024. (AN photo)
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Sunday’s event in Karachi was similar to kite flights in the UK, United States, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and other parts of the world, with the kites mirroring colors of the Palestinian flag in a symbolic gesture of unity and support for the Palestinian identity.
“We’ve done that as a kind of show of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their identity,” Sheikh said, adding it would serve as a “powerful reminder” to the world of the situation in Gaza.
Ali Muhammad, a 14-year-old student, said the event was a “gesture of solidarity” toward the people of Gaza, who were facing persecution and deprivation on a daily basis.
“As Pakistanis we support Gaza, and we’re against Israel,” Muhammad told Arab News. “In Gaza, children and women and men are getting persecuted a lot, they don’t get food for days. They don’t have water.”
Eman Ali, 17, said the event was aimed at highlighting the “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza.
“We can’t let ourselves forget. Because in the beginning, everyone was all about this, right. But now there have been other issues. We’ve had elections, students are having exams, everything is going on,” she said.
“We need to not let life go on as it is. This is a reminder for everyone that the genocide is still going on.”
Sheikh, the organizer, said kite flying had evolved into a symbol synonymous to the children of Gaza since 2011, when they broke the world record by flying more than 12,000 kites over a northern Gaza beach.
“We fly a kite in solidarity with them in the hope that one day they will be as free as a kite that we fly,” she added.
