About one dozen activists gathered on Cabinet grounds today to show solidarity with the people of Palestine.

The gathering, organised by Peace Collective, was held on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and took place from noon to about 2pm.

One attendee, Arion Mapp, urged the government to speak out more against the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

He explained: “It seems so difficult to not appreciate what is happening now, but it has been happening for so long.

“People have been born into this, people have died in this, people who have been born a year ago might be dead now.

“How do we reconcile that our country supports it, your tax dollars support it, your government officials support it, and we’re happy with that?

“I’m gravely disappointed that our country has not taken a position to say this is wrong.”

Sasha Pedro believes that small actions by people around the world can create meaningful change.

She said: “We don’t need one person to be perfect with their boycotting and their advocacy, we need millions of people to be imperfect to make a difference.

“In the end, the corporations and the western governments in general only listen to dollar signs, so we need to hit them in their pockets as much as we can, and even in a small country, we can do that.

“Just because we are small does not mean that we should not make our voices heard, and when other smaller countries start to say something and start to boycott, the bigger impact it is going to have.”

Lisa Reed, executive officer at the Bermuda Human Rights Commission, emphasised the importance of fighting for rights.

She added: “Just because we enjoy certain rights today does not mean that they are guaranteed tomorrow.

“Human rights must always be monitored, we must always monitor where the gap is and constantly advocate for the rights that are missing.”