Run for Palestine ‘showed the true face of Hull’
SUPPORT: Participants ready themselves at the start of Run for Palestine
By Phil Ascough
The participants were as pumped up as the inflatable starting gate when they set off round Pearson Park, flags flying and voices bellowing their support: “Free, free Palestine!”
The colours of the day were those of the Palestinian flag – black, white, green, and red – and the mood was one of joy and harmony.
Primary school-age children at the front of the field sprinted off and showed dozens of clean pairs of heels to the older participants, with various age groups and ability levels in the middle of the pack, and the stragglers bringing up the rear.
The physical challenge of Run for Palestine was to complete two, five or ten laps of Pearson Park and the financial goal was to help to raise funds for the relief effort in Gaza.
The non-runners were able to make their contributions by spending at the stalls and other activities which formed the accompanying community family fair.
The young athletes still had plenty of energy to throw themselves into a bouncy castle, slides and other attractions. All involved were tucking into an array of international food offers, browsing clothing and jewellery stalls, enjoying arts and crafts, and getting their faces painted.
Zia Salik, deputy director of Islamic Relief, told the crowd the occasion was a community celebration of multiculturalism in Hull which also marked the anniversary of the public condemnation of the right-wing riots of August 2024.
The clear message across the park was that, wherever you go in the UK, nobody supports such humanitarian causes with quite the same enthusiasm as the people of Hull.
A family who travelled from Oldham to sell cakes, pastries and other delights said the atmosphere and the multicultural mix was so much greater than at other events they visit.
‘THE MIX OF PEOPLE HERE IS BRILLIANT’: Professor Mahmoud Loubani
Professor Mahmoud Loubani elaborated: “It is a fantastic day. The mixture of people here is brilliant.”
It was particularly important for Prof Loubani, whose parents left their homeland during the Nakba – the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
He came to the UK in 1998 and to Hull in 2009. He now works as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Castle Hill Hospital and is also chair of PalMed Academy, an organisation set up in 2022 to support medical and health care education for Palestine and serve the Palestinian community.
Part of PalMed UK – a charity primarily involved in relief work and the supply of medicine – PalMed Academy is more focused on medical and healthcare education.
Prof Loubani said: “I set it up in Hull and now we are a national group and we are expanding our activities into Europe.
MESSAGE: Zia Salik addressing crowds at the start
“After October 7, 2023, we all know what happened. There were 12 universities in Gaza. The majority were totally destroyed and the rest were unusable. We started early in 2024 thinking about how we could help to support healthcare education. This was in the context of 1,500 healthcare workers being killed, between 300 and 400 injured, and about 200 arrested and imprisoned.
“There was a great shortage of healthcare workers there so we diverted our attention to supporting and delivering healthcare, including medical, dental and nursing education.”
One initiative was the launch in June 2024 of Gaza Educates Medics (GEM), which provides online tuition and is working towards delivering practical learning.
Prof Loubani said: “By January this year 200 doctors graduated in Gaza despite the atrocities. They managed to complete their education and start supporting the healthcare workforce in February this year.
‘THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSE AT THIS TIME’: Runner Andy Hodgson
“We have also managed to support two medical schools in Gaza from year one to year six of their training with all the educational material required by the students at both universities. We also have more than 1,000 international volunteers, consultants and professors across the world who are delivering interactive lessons online.
“That covers theory but the last three years are clinical years and students have to go to hospitals and clinics to be taught with patients, so we devised ways for them to do that.”
PalMed Academy operates in an informal partnership with Islamic Relief UK, where Zia is interim director of an organisation which works to promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities. Another key partner is the Hull Crisis Response Team (CRT) – a group of local volunteers who mobilise to support people in need either overseas or at home.
Both bodies worked with The Peel Project after the riots in August 2024 to bring together the community and to address the fear and anxiety which had permeated the biggest targets for the attack – primarily the Muslim community, plus migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. All three organisations were at the forefront of Run for Palestine.
Prof Loubani said: “We work very closely. We have held activities with them and they are very supportive. Part of the money raised from today will be shared with PalMed Academy.
DELICIOUS: Food for sale at the Bakery No 5 stall
“Education is a human right for all students and we should not be depriving them of that. If you remove education and healthcare your society will disintegrate and that is the Israeli campaign – to destroy healthcare and the universities.
“The event today shows the true face of Hull and the people of Hull coming out in massive numbers to support our cause and support Palestine.
“Many of the people here are predominantly from ethnic backgrounds but the mix of local Hull people and international people is fantastic to see. We attend events across the UK and we don’t see this in any other city. I urge people to have a look at our website and donate, donate, donate!”
Local resident Andy Hodgson told of his motivation for taking part in the run.
He said: “Like millions of other people I am just horrified by what’s happened over the last two years and before that. If now isn’t the time to do something like this when would be?
MERCHANDISE: Prints for sale
“It’s my first park run and I am pleased I did it because there is no more important cause at this moment in time. I have proved something to myself by doing five laps because the last run I did was at school!”
After the riots Zia told how the impact amounted to “a self-imposed lockdown”.
One year on he spoke about how a growing sense of community is helping to rebuild confidence.
He said: “It was great to see the whole community come together. It took a lot of time for families from minority communities in the city to use public spaces like Pearson Park after last year’s riots. That’s why the Run for Palestine and community family fair was so important.
“It sent a resounding message that everyone is welcome in Hull, we are united against the hate and, of course, we all stand in support of those affected by the horrific situation in Palestine."
To find out more about PalMed Academy and to support its work visit palmedacademy.com