A prayer rally titled “Tinig ng Kapayapaan: An Inter-Religious Prayer Rally for Peace in Gaza” was held on July 21 for the victims of the continuing conflict between Palestine and Israel.
The decades-long battle between the two countries escalated on July 8 when “Operation Protective Edge,” an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiative aimed toward rescuing three missing Israelis, was initiated.
According to reports, the IDF had reason to believe that Palestinians were responsible for the kidnapping.
The methods used by Israel included attacking and bombing the Gaza Strip, resulting in deaths for hundreds of innocent Palestinians.
The Palestinians retaliated, firing rockets of their own into Israel, which further strained the relationship between the two countries.
“Before we start with anything, we want to make it clear that we’re praying for peace for those citizens who are caught in the crossfire,” said Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) Premier Abbo Hernandez.
The prayer rally was co-organized by the following groups: Crusada, the Ateneo Enterteynment para sa Tao, Lansangan, Bayan at Diyos, the Ateneo Resident Student Association’s Social Responsibility Arm (ARSA-Aguhon), the Ateneo Student Catholic Action (Atsca), Loyola School’s Office of Campus Ministry (LS OCM), and the Peace Pilgrims.
According to the event’s program release, the Peace Pilgrims was started by a group of Christian and Islam Ateneans from Zamboanga City whose aim is to invite the Ateneo community to pray for the victims of the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.
A number of students and professors gathered at Zen Garden for the opening ceremonies, which included a presentation courtesy of ARSA-Aguhon and Crusada that outlined the events that have transpired in Gaza, and an Islam prayer led by legal management freshman Datu Amir Wagas.
The attendees then marched to the Science Education Complex field, where a Christian prayer was led by health sciences senior Nina Bolong. Gate 2.5 was the final stop of the rally, where a prayer and a candle lighting ceremony was led by Arvin Basa from the LS OCM.
For Gaza
During the opening ceremonies, Hernandez urged the people in attendance to continue showing its support for innocent citizens who are caught in the crossfire of the war.
“Makisimpatiya po tayo sa mga tao na naghihirap po ngayon sa Gaza… Gusto lang natin ipakita na kahit po iba ang relihiyon natin, kaya pa rin po nating gumawa ng isang interaksyon na mapayapa (Let us sympathize with the people who are struggling right now in Gaza… We just want to show that even if we have a different religion, we can still interact in peace),” Hernandez said.
Hernandez added that differences in religion should not stop Ateneans from showing support to people in Gaza. “This is why [this event] is an inter-religious prayer rally, [so we can] pray for peace for Gaza.”
Likewise, in his closing speech, Basa stressed the need to continue supporting those affected by the war in Gaza.
“We hope that [the fight for peace] will not end here. We hope that we can continue to pray, and we continue to involve ourselves… We continue to be concerned and genuinely to care for our brothers and sisters [in Gaza] even if we’re miles away from them,” he said.
