Thursday, 16 November 2023

Middle East conflict

Kathleen MATTHEWS-WARD (Broadmeadows) (10:06): Again I rise to speak for the 11,000 civilians who have been forever silenced and the nearly 5000 children whose laughter will never be heard again. On Tuesday we held a gathering for peace here in Parliament to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Victorians who have lost so many loved ones. I thank my fellow members of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine for coming to the event and the many other MPs who showed their support. I thank the leaders of my community who were able to take the time to attend for the hard work they are doing in this time of crisis. I thank Halil from Faulkner for sharing the devastation of his loss and Mouad, who lost 35 members of his family in a single air strike. Mouad is a respected teacher at Ilim College, and in a beautiful gesture the students from the boys campus sent him letters of condolence and support. So many in my community are grieving. They are feeling devastated and helpless. The students at the girls campus were asked to describe in one word how they felt. They responded with: unheard, distraught, silenced, ignored, misunderstood, unseen, invisible, sad, confused and frustrated. I share their grief and frustration. Enough is enough. The killing of civilians must stop. Children cannot continue to pay the price, cannot continue to suffer and die. In the strongest possible terms I call for an immediate ceasefire.