Pictures by
Words by
Saturday 28th June 2025, the people of Whitstable came together to show support for the people of Palestine.
A number of us made speeches, including this one by Mary:
It was inspiring to see all these people of good heart coming together to show support for the people of Palestine, undergoing what many human rights and aid organisations are describing as a genocide.
Propbably the worst crime against humanity since the holocaust of the second world war.
It can get very frustrating at times, watching all the terrible images rolling in on our social media feeds. It can make you despair, that there is so little we can do to stop these crimes. We are being told, in no uncertain terms, that our world doesn’t belong to us and that nothing that we do matters.
But solidarity does matter. Expressing outrage at injustice matters. Being with our friends in these times of violence matters. Showing that we care. Showing that we are human. Standing up for what is right. It may not change the government’s mind, but it can help to heal our own wounds.
It can also help to communicate to other people on the street. Many cars bibbed their horns in solidarity with us as they passed. Many people expressed their support.
Let’s not give in to despair. In times of injustice refusing to give up hope is an act of resistance.
Thanks to Nick and Mary for organising the event, to all the speakers for expressing their thoughts, and to everyone who turned up to show solidarity. Let’s make this a regular event.
And don’t forget the march and rally tomorrow, 5th July, 12pm Westgate Gardens:
Gallery
(Click on images to enlarge)
Gerry Atkinson:
Training as a photojournalist, I started recording political protests in London in the 1990’s. I spent 18 months volunteering with CWERC, an NGO in the Philippines, recording the lives of indigenous women for an audio-visual ‘Weaving our own Dreams’. I moved on to New Zealand for 4 years working for newspapers. On returning to London I organised a collaborative project with people with mental health problems to produce ‘Through the Lens’ documentary photography exhibition.
My MA research in 2010 resulted in a book ‘Shades of Other Lives’, a series of windows at night, developed in reference to Labour Party comments that “We are all middle class now”. In 2011-2012, I spent 10 months in Greece, Cape Town and New Zealand working on documentary projects. Recent community projects are ‘Our Work of Art 2018-2019’. I have an NUJ Photojournalist Press Card and am currently discussing new ideas and collaborations.
I studied at Leicester University, the London College of Communication and the University for the Creative Arts.
I have extensive solo and group exhibition experience including the British Museums landmark exhibition “Rice and Life in the Philippines”. My work has been published in newspapers, books and magazines and is held in private collections.
To see more of Gerry’s work, please go to: https://www.gerryatkinson.com/
CJ Stone:
CJ Stone is an author, columnist and feature writer. He has written seven books, and columns and articles for many newspapers and magazines.
Read more of CJ Stone’s work here, here and here.
Whitstable Views: How You Can Help
- Make sure you share and like our articles on Facebook and Twitter, and whatever other social-media platforms you use.
- Subscribe to get regular updates about new articles when they appear. Press the “Subscribe” icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen and that will take you to the option to sign up. (It disappears as you move the text down, then reappears as you move it back up again!)
- Leave comments on the site rather than on Facebook. Let’s get a debate going. All of our contributors are willing to engage with you if you leave a comment.
- To all writers out there, we would LOVE you to make a contribution. Read our submissions page for details on how to go about that: https://whitstableviews.com/submissions/
- Finally you can donate. As little as £1 would help. Details on the donations page here: https://whitstableviews.com/donate/
Whitstable Views 