Sydney against Israel

Around 20,000 people marched from Town Hall to Martin Place in Sydney today to show their opposition and general contempt for what Israel has been doing in Lebanon over the last few weeks.

It was a pretty intense atmosphere. I was suprised at how many families were there though. Mothers pushed prams with banners wrapper around them, and little kids wore tshirts that said "stop killing our children". But there was a lighter side to some of it as well; I kept seeing people wearing tshirts with slogans like "Make Hommus Not War".

One thing I really noticed though was the palpable swings in emotion in the crowd throughout the march; outrage and anger, a deep gentle sadness, happiness and smiles. That was probably the most intense part about it all. Anger for the atrocities against Lebanon, sadness at the waste of life and disregard for the rights of the Lebanese people and happiness at the support and comradery displayed in filling Martin Place full of protesters. I spoke to a couple of guys, one of which has his family stuck in the south of Lebanon right at this moment. It really brings it home when you talk to people directly affected by this. There was a general sense at the end of the march that we were doing something to make a difference.

You can see all my photos on flickr here.