Port Moody to mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with red and green lights
Local pro-Palestine organizers are starting to exert pressure on Port Moody to take a public stance on Israel’s military campaign on the Gaza Strip.
The organizers have submitted a delegation to the city in hopes the council will write a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.
Alain Quinto, and organizer with Free Palestine Tri-Cities, said their delegation was initially scheduled for March 12, but it was recently postponed.
He pleaded for council to reconsider during public input on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
“We are watching a genocide happen on our phones every day,” Quinto said. “And not only is this a global humanitarian matter, it is a civic one as well.”
Port Moody is not the only municipality in the Tri-Cities the group has attempted to lobby. Free Palestine Tri-Cities have been holding rallies outside Coquitlam City Hall every Sunday for the past eight weeks in rain, snow and even the Super Bowl.
At these rallies, Quinto said local Palestinian Canadians have spoken of hundreds of family members killed since Israel launched its bombing campaigns after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.
“They’ve spoken of family members without food, so they resort to eating animal food and grass. New mothers with no milk, forced to watch their babies die. This is no life for any human to lead, let alone be forced to endure by fellow humans,” Quinto said. “There is nothing more urgent than ending with daily massacres occurring in Gaza.”
The delegation is also asking the city to condemn rising incidences of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and all forms of racism in the community.
He urged Port Moody to join the 76 North American cities who have called for a ceasefire, including New Westminster, which wrote its own letter to the prime minister in January, 2024.
Two other speakers spoke during public input appealing for the city to call for a ceasefire.
One woman noted more than 14,000 infants and children have been killed since Oct. 7, which is half the number of students in SD43.
She concluded by listing the names of dead children before her two minutes of speaking time ran out. She said she would return to the next meeting to continue reading the names.
Another woman, Jenna Bright, put in a request with the city to shine red and green lights at city hall in solidarity with Palestinian peoples on two dates: March 8 for International Women’s Day and Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Women; and November 29 for International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Bright said it was a small action that the city could take, but would be immediately meaningful to many residents in Port Moody.
“I’m here tonight to ask the councillors to speak up on behalf of the residents of Port Moody, including Palestinians that live here in the diaspora,” she said. “This community has an incredibly strong heart and a beautiful soul, and we need it now.”
Coun. Agtarap said the March 8 date would conflict with the purple lighting which is shone during International Women’s Day, adding it was an error the date was listed as free online.
She moved to approve the request to allow the green and red colours to be used on November 29. All other councillors voted unanimously in favour.
Coun. Amy Lubik said the request was in solidarity with other Port Moody citizens, and said it signalled international compassion, and anti-racism, and anti-hate.
“I really think this is an important thing that we do. It’s a very small thing to show our solidarity, and I don’t think that it’s against anybody,” Lubik said.
Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tri-Cities Dispatch
