Content warning: This story discusses war and violence against children. Please read with care.
Community members gathered on Saturday in Cumberland to attend Comox Valley for Palestine’s winter market to raise money for a children’s art therapy and education centre in Cairo, Egypt.
The event, named Art is Love is Resistance: A Winter Market for Refugee Children, raised more than $5,000 for Mira Centre, a volunteer-led art therapy centre for children that relocated to Cairo after being partially destroyed by the ongoing bombardment in Gaza.
Stephanie Abbat-Slater, one of the winter market organizers, said Comox Valley for Palestine wanted to make sure it supported local vendors while fundraising for the Mira Centre. Vendors paid a table fee on a sliding scale, with the entirety of the fee going to the fundraiser. They were able to keep 100 per cent of their profit from their art sales.
There is also an online auction, beginning this evening, that will run until Dec. 18 to raise more funds for the centre. Abbat-Slater said more information for that will be on Comox Valley for Palestine’s social media, for those who want to learn more. The group has both an Instagram and Facebook page.
Comox Valley for Palestine receives support from community
Abbat-Slater joined Comox Valley for Palestine this past summer and has been working with the group since then. She said the organization helped with her collective grief while working together to support Palestine.
“I think what’s unique about the Comox Valley is that it is so community minded,” Abbat-Slater said. “We’ve heard from other places on the Island that they don’t even have an organization like this, and some of them actually travel up from Parksville or Qualicum to come to some of our meetings, same with Campbell River. So it’s a really unique thing we have here in the valley.”
Abbat-Slater said the organization’s summer fundraiser brought in more than $6,000 thanks to community support.
Centre helps children work through trauma of war
Abbat-Slater told The Discourse that the Mira Centre the group is fundraising for is free for children to attend, and it can help them through trauma.
“Sadly, a lot of the children who attend Mira Centre are orphaned or only have one parent left. Some of them have some pretty traumatic injuries to their body … So I think art therapy is really important when going through trauma that — especially as a kid — is really hard to understand,” Abbat-Slater said.
She noted that fundraising for the centre seemed like a positive way to support children who really need it.
The market also had art stations, such as stations for wreath-making and painting, for people to participate in. One of these stations is Birds of Gaza ornaments, where participants were invited to decorate a bird made of fabric and felt. On the back is the name of a child from Gaza who has died as a result of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Once the bird is decorated, its photo can be uploaded to the Birds of Gaza website so the memory of the child lives on.
Abbat-Slater said it felt impossible to choose which children to honour. She is currently supporting a doctor in Gaza who she speaks with every day. She said he lost 13 family members a couple of weeks ago and four were children.
“So I named four of the birds after those kids and sent it to him, and his response was so positive,” Abbat-Slater said.
Community support is key to move through collective grief
Decorating the birds and learning about the children who have died was sad and difficult for Abbat-Slater. She said there is a feeling of guilt that also comes from watching the many deaths unfold from afar, as well as a collective grief that has formed amongst communities.
“There’s a lot of navigating different emotions.”
But Abbat-Slater has some advice for those who may be struggling with their mental health while watching war in Gaza from their homes.
“My advice would be [that] you are not alone. I found Comox Valley for Palestine because I felt that [grief]. I would cry every morning and hug my kids when they were sleeping … I have three-year-old twins,” she said. “Reach out to your community … you’d be surprised at how many other people feel the same way and feel so alone in it.”
She said many resources are also available online for those looking for ways to find community and take action or support organizations that are taking action. It’s also possible to directly support people in Gaza by speaking with them on Instagram, according to Abbat-Slater.
“Also be kind to yourself; don’t burn out,” Abbat-Slater said. “I think one of the biggest things that we have to remember as protesters or advocates for a certain cause, no matter what your cause is, is don’t let it consume your whole life because you will burn out. And if you burn out, you are no longer helpful.”
Comox Valley for Palestine’s next event will be an Introduction to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, held at Weird Church on Dec. 19, 2024.
