Frome Friends of Palestine guest speaker

FOLLOWING a visit to Gaza last year, Hilary Browne has been touring Britain delivering talks about life in the war-torn region. She will be speaking in Frome in September.

Hilary, a Quaker from Yorkshire, was working on the Palestinian West Bank, during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in 2009. She was determined to visit Gaza to see the other side of the occupation.

Hilary said, “The people in Gaza don’t get any visitors from the outside, so they all say ‘please tell others what it’s like here.’

“They have a great spirit – almost a Northern spirit – they always say ‘they are not going to beat us’.

“I want people to know what life is like there so we can all work towards a just peace.”

Devastating violence erupted in Gaza again this year as Palestinian Hamas militants and Israeli forces continue to battle for control of the region.

Frome Friends of Palestine, who are hosting the talk, are a local group committed to raising awareness of Palestinian suffering inflicted by the fighting.

They put on fundraising events and have recently been working on a photography project to link   Frome Youth Council with al-Arroub, a refugee camp near Hebron in the West Bank.

Hilary’s talk will be at Frome Trinity Hall on Friday 5th September at 7.30pm. Tickets will be £3.50 and all profits go to Medical Aid for Palestinians.

There will also be a talk by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe at the Cheese & Grain on 30th September.

To find out more search for ‘Frome Friends of Palestine’ on Facebook.