The special meaning behind more than 100 kites in Bradford park this weekend
The names of Palestinian children killed in Gaza will be read aloud as the white kites are held high in Lister Park.
The memorial vigil will be held at the bandstand from 2pm on Sunday, August 17.
The vigil will begin with the reading of a poem 'If I must Die' by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, which has been the inspiration behind the event.
The procession will then continue through the park with a public reading of names of some children killed through Israel's attacks.
The white kites have been created by communities across Bradford.
Cutting fabric for the kites (Image: Cecil Green Arts) After starting just a few months ago, the project has brought people together through a series of workshops in churches, madrassas, and other gathering spaces.
The project has been supported by Cecil Green Arts, a local arts and theatre company based St Philips Church.
Cecil Green Arts is behind other projects such as the annual lantern parade, puppetry events, and much more.
The base for the kites (Image: Cecil Green Arts) It is hoped these white kites will stand as symbols of remembrance, hope and solidarity.
Wahida Shaffi, one of the event organisers, said: 'Every kite we make is for a child who should still be alive… each kite we raise to the sky is a way of bearing witness, remembering their names and calling for an urgent end to the genocide.'
It comes after UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell spoke about the humanitarian situation for children in Gaza at the UN Security Council meeting.
The kites (Image: Cecil Green Arts) Speaking on July 16, 2025, in New York, the director said: 'Children are not political actors. They do not start conflicts, and they are powerless to stop them. But they suffer greatly, and they wonder why the world has failed them.
'And make no mistake, we have failed them.
"Over the past 21 months of war, more than 17,000 children have reportedly been killed and 33,000 injured in Gaza. An average of 28 children have been killed each day – the equivalent of an entire classroom. Consider that for a moment. A whole classroom of children killed, every day for nearly two years.
"These children are not combatants. They are being killed and maimed as they line up for lifesaving food and medicine."
She later added: 'Children who survive the war in Gaza will be forever affected by the deprivation and exposure to traumatic events they have experienced. Even before the war began, half of Gaza's child population needed mental health and psychological support. Today, all of Gaza's children need these services.'
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