Yasmine is running the Royal Parks Half Marathon

As many of you know by now, my father is Palestinian and a survivor of the 1948 Nakba. My Palestinian heritage and identity is very important to me and the last 24 months of the genocide in Gaza for us have been devastating to witness, and our lives have been changed forever as a result.

I've fundraised, marched, campaigned and educated over the last two years, but I will always strive to do more – to speak up for those who don't have a voice and most importantly, to help the innocent children of this world.

Amidst a genocide that has tragically claimed the lives of over 65,000 people, including over 20,000 children, the children of Gaza hold simple hopes...food, clothing, peace & the opportunity to learn once more.

As a mother myself, the children of Gaza have been on my mind every day. Gaza now has the largest number of child amputees in recorded history. There is now officially an acronym that is unique to the children in Gaza – Wounded Child No Surviving Family (WCNSF). The wounded children who have no family left, mostly have lost a limb or two that have been amputated without pain relief. None of these children CHOSE THE HELLSCAPE THEY WERE BORN INTO.

Those of us screaming and campaigning cannot do this alone. We must all speak out tirelessly against the holocaust of our time. Educate, activate, protest, follow our money, break passivity, each to the extent our situation allows. All of humanity owes this to the people of Gaza and I firmly reject the notion that anyone is exempt from this responsibility.

Now there is a grade 5 famine in Gaza and if these thousands of men, women and children must live and die in the most horrific ways while your government uses your taxes, then we all can do something about it NOW.

Time is running out. ACTIONS, NOT WORDS. And if you want to know what you can do, please email me at [email protected].

I refuse to be silent. We must not be apathetic. Do you want to join me in making a difference?

I've been particularly disappointed in my industry at the many who have remained silent on this issue. Silence is compliance, and so I've decided to run a half marathon race in October to continue the fundraising initiative I've been building called Move for Palestine.

On Sunday the 12th of October I will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London to raise money for Children Not Numbers, whose mission is to provide immediate support and long-term rehabilitation for children affected by conflicts and in poverty, ensuring they have access to the medical care, education, and advocacy they deserve. You can see the incredible work they do here:

https://childrennotnumbers.org

Thank you SO very much for contributing to a cause that means so much to me and will mean so much to the children of Gaza.

See you at the finish line! And always, FREE PALESTINE!

In solidarity,

Yasmine x