It is important to support the Freedom Flotilla mission because it represents a vital humanitarian effort to provide life-saving aid to the people of Gaza who are enduring unimaginable hardships under a prolonged siege. By joining this campaign for change, others can stand in solidarity with the oppressed and advocate for justice on the international stage. Supporting the Freedom Flotilla not only ensures that essential aid reaches those in need but also sends a powerful message against injustice and in support of human rights.

For the past 6 months, the state of Israel has brought death and unimaginable destruction upon the civilian population of Gaza in a stark escalation of 75 years of colonial violence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at the time of writing this text, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, 14,500 of them children and 9,560 women. Another 75,000 people have been injured. Nearly 2 million people have been forcibly displaced. Famine is imminent - half of Gaza’s population is facing food insecurity due to the intense bombardment of the Gaza strip and the severe limitations being placed on humanitarian access by Israel. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 28 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration since 1st April. An interim damage assessment by the World Bank, EU, and the UN, has estimated the total cost of damages in the Gaza strip at 18.5 billion US dollars and has found that 60% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction wrought on Al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli siege on the facility. The WHO have described the hospital as “an empty shell” - most of the buildings are destroyed, the medical equipment is unusable and no patients remain. Israel’s latest bombardments over the last 6 months have further intensified the occupational deprivation and injustice experienced by Palestinians by denying them access to the safety and opportunity to engage in even the most basic of essential occupations. Despite ongoing advocacy by Occupational Therapists worldwide, (Arab Occupational Regional Group, Occupational Therapists and Scientists against Occupation, Palestinian Justice is Occupational Justice) the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) have remained silent on these violations of human rights and international law, and have failed to call for a ceasefire. WFOT issued a tweet on November 6th 2023, stating that their “fundamental beliefs mean that [they] are unable to take positions on political agendas of any nation” (WFOT 2023). This stance is inconsistent with the federation’s own commitment that “WFOT, its Member Organisations, occupational therapists, assistants, and students are obligated to support occupational justice and human rights. WFOT affirms its commitment to challenge and address systemic racism and continue to advocate for people, communities, and societies.” The inadequacy of WFOT’s stance on Gaza however goes beyond its failure to call for a ceasefire, and extends to its stance on the fraught international status of the Occupational Therapy degree program currently being taught in Ariel University, in the settlement of Ariel in the Occupied West Bank. The consensus of the international community is that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. This view has been upheld in the International Court of Justice and by repeated resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Ariel University therefore must be regarded as having been illegally constructed on stolen Palestinian land. The university is currently subject to an academic boycott by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. Despite this international legal consensus, the World Federation only last year took the decision to accredit the degree programme at Ariel University. WFOT has incorrectly listed this program on its website as located in “Israel”, a designation that further normalises illegal settlement. This is unacceptable from a professional organisation that ostensibly takes an anti-racist, human rights based approach. As Occupational Therapists, we have an ethical duty to fight for occupational justice for all people and to do what we can to ensure that all people have equal access and opportunity to engage in occupations of necessity, obligation, and choice. Irish Occupational Therapists for Palestine, Occupational Therapists for a Free Palestine (UK) and Jewish OT's for Palestine and the undersigned individual Occupational Therapists, call upon the World Federation of Occupational Therapists to uphold the tenets of our profession by taking action towards the goal of defending the human rights and occupational rights of Palestinian people: -Issue a statement calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, condemning all illegal Israeli settlements and distancing WFOT from settler colonialism. -Immediately amend the WFOT website so that the location of the Occupational Therapy degree program in Ariel University complies with the legal consensus under international law. -Discontinue the accreditation of the Occupational Therapy degree program in Ariel University

The nursing support are who keep out type 1 diabetic children safe and health in a daily basis

Six children started in the ASD class together in St Clares primary school and are currently in 3rd class but there is no ASD class in the feeder post primary school in the same town. Where will these 6 children go to school when they finish primary school? Would it not make sense to have an ASD class in the feeder school

I manage a community-based , not-for-profit childcare service in Tralee. We receive innumerable phonecalls and emails from exasperated parents and families unable to find childcare in the town and surrounding areas. Childcare services have reached capacity, there are no spaces at all for under 3s in the town, this is a massive systemic issue. Our service originally operated in Blennerville village and after years of repeated attempts to secure suitable land, our goal remains to build another facility back in Blennerville to facilitate more childcare spaces. This would free up much needed spaces in our current premises in Caherslee, Tralee. Please sign this petition to show your support. We need to build public awareness regarding the issues at play here, new planning approaches regarding childcare and sustained investment in childcare to facilitate working parents and build sustainable communities. Purpose-built childcare facilities should be provided for in major residential development. Please feel free to highlight this issue with your local politicians.

Many of the vulnerable residents in Aperee Living Callan are in the latter years of there lives. A move at this stage will render them more vulnerable. Their physical and mental health will suffer a great upheaval. They will be separated from the surroundings they are familiar with and the people they are used to living with.

I wanna watch it

It is incredibly important for our children to feel equal to their peers and that there is adequate education and support surrounding neurodiversity for the children and their families.

Residents of Chapel road have a right to walk and cycle to access public trains and coastline. Residents of Chapel road have a right to be able to choose greener options for travel Residents of Chapel road are at danger of being knocked down by aggressive motorists if they choose to walk or cycle with current access conditions

Because only people power will get the Justice Minister attention and elections due in the next few months.

these are childhood memories of millions of irish and english children

So that Dublin City Council and the Irish government only sign contracts with companies that respect human rights and adhere to international law