Layal Mansour is hoping a rally outside Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu’s office Friday will help amplify calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“We need our MP's support in our call for a ceasefire… there is a way we can stop the bloodshed,” said Mansour, a Canadian Palestinian who's been organizing Sarnia’s ceasefire rallies held weekly since October.
Until now, the family-friendly rallies have been held at Sarnia City Hall, but Mansour said it’s being relocated to the Finch Drive office Friday morning at 11 a.m. in hopes to prompt a response from Gladu, and other political leaders.
“We keep sending her emails, and petitions…” Mansour said. “This is the only answer we have from our MP: that Israel has the right to defend itself.
“Regardless of the massacres, the humanitarian crisis happening, the bombing of hospitals and refugee camps,” Mansour added.
Mansour, a mother of five who moved to Sarnia in 2017, says the local rallies have grown over the weeks as more residents come out in support, or just to engage in discussion and education. Some have even started a book club aimed at learning more about Palestine and its history.
“We have seen increases in participants and awareness in our Sarnia community,” she said. “People are coming and asking: how can we help, and what can we do?”
But it hasn’t all been positive. Mansour says she’s often the victim of racist comments online.
“Sometimes, when you just post some events on social media groups, you have people responding with things like ‘go back to your country,’” she said.
The Sarnia Muslim Association also hosted a seminar and discussion on the History of Palestine at an Open House event in the fall.
“She did come to the Open house,” Layal said of Gladu’s attendance.
When reached for comment, Gladu stated: "I support Israel’s right to defend itself, and I regret the tragic loss of innocent lives on both sides. I hope for a speedy, peaceful resolution to this conflict.”
"While I support peaceful protests,” she added, “I would remind any protestors that my office is located in a private mall, and protests are permitted on the sidewalk adjacent on Finch Dr.”
Mansour says she believes it’s her duty to raise awareness and educate her community.
“I want to show people how my people are living under occupation and under an apartheid state in Gaza,” said Mansour, whose grandparents were survivors of the 1948 Nakba. “It’s like a concentration camp… no access to water or medical care or food.”
“We are protesting for the sake of Innocent women, men, kids who are literally starving to death; babies dying from cold weather and from diseases being spread,” Mansour added, pointing to 1.9 million Gazans who have been displaced, as reported by the United Nations. “Hospitals are being bombed and injured left to die; premature babies left to die alone… people getting shot at while attempting to get food or aid; women giving birth on the streets, having c-sections without anaesthetic.”
“I believe that calling for a ceasefire to stop the ongoing genocide should be a call for every Canadian who believes in values and morals… everyone who is not asking and demanding a ceasefire is complicit and a partner in crime.”