I just came across this art demonstration by missingthem.net which is happening today, January 24th, and was really moved. Missingthem.net is staging an art-inspired protest today at airports around the world calling attention to three missing Israeli soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit - who were kidnapped from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and southern border with Gaza in 2006. More information can be found on the site of advocacy group HaBanim (meaning, “the sons” in Hebrew) including how many days all three have been missing in action - which is at least 560 and counting - and how you can help (donating or signing their petition).
As part of the demonstration, volunteers from around the world will wait at airport arrival halls with blank notices. You know how there are always people waiting with signs welcoming their loved ones, seeking clients or assembling groups? Well although the signs will be symbolically blank, there are plenty of people waiting for these three young men to come home. The website is mostly in Hebrew but there is enough English here and there for you to either leave comments or see pictures of others waiting (which I imagine will fill up by the end of the day). It’s amazing to see how many airports/ countries will have volunteers participating in the project throughout the day, outside of Israel’s international and local airports obviously, including: Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Cyprus, France, Spain, England, US, Argentina, Thailand and South Africa (J’berg). It will be interesting to see whether the project will generate any media attention to its cause and the photographs that will be uploaded to the site from around the world because it’s certainly an important cause and situation to draw attention to.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Jennifer // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:12 am
Wish I’d known about this earlier. And publicity? Create a flickr group!
2 Ziva // Jan 25, 2008 at 12:46 pm
That’s actually how I found out about it - through a flickr photo from a Shenkar student. But I didn’t see any other media covering it - also not after the event. Did you?
3 sara // Jan 25, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I only heard about from you - and I’ve posted about it.
4 Jennifer // Jan 26, 2008 at 8:18 am
Only heard about it here.
5 dani // Jan 27, 2008 at 11:32 pm
thank you for covering the protest. the primary date was meant to kick start the project. it is continuing project. we would like to reach people around the world (we are going to change the blog to English) and ask them to to wait (even for few minutes) in airports around the world with the empty sign, and document themselves while doing so. the site will stay as long as it needs until all four will come back, and the images that are being created will also be used for other means of protest. right now we have some technical difficulties (translation and programing) but hopefully we will solve that in a matter of days.
thanks again, and please keep on spreading the word (and send us your picture when you can). sorry for the bad English and for the longitude of this comment.
Dani
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