Hong Kong Activists Raise HK$21k for Gaza's Hungry

Hong Kong’s punk community has made a significant contribution to supporting the hungry in the war-torn Gaza Strip by raising HK$21,375. This effort was part of a “Rise for Liberation” fundraiser organized by punk music promoter Rice and the punk collective Blank Slate on October 31. The event, co-organized by the record label Mouhoi, aimed to provide aid to those affected by the ongoing conflict.

The funds raised were directed towards We Feed Gaza, an independent grassroots Catholic movement dedicated to distributing food to starving people in the Palestinian territory. Since its inception, We Feed Gaza has fed over 18,000 families and raised almost half a million US dollars through GoFundMe. The campaign has also distributed over 290,000 litres of fresh water, more than 10,400 treats for children, and 5,700 meals, along with fresh groceries and essential supplies via their distributors.

Rice expressed gratitude to its Instagram followers earlier this month, highlighting the importance of compassion during difficult times. “We are all living through a very dark period,” the punk community stated. “With our own worlds full of problems, it may be easier to look away than to show compassion for others. But one day, you may look back and wish you had done more when you could have.”

According to We Feed Gaza’s campaign page, the initiative seeks to provide daily meals, healthy food items, and medicine for the sick. Due to the Gaza War, people are without water, food, medicine, electricity, reliable internet, schools, hospitals, housing units, places of worship, and face rampant disease, scarce money, and ongoing military threats. A basic meal costs $17-$20, and the US-based initiative relies on donations from individuals like Omar Haro and his brother Alex. “A small donation will help others immediately. A US$25 gift helps one family for 1-2 days or one child for 2-3 days.”

The situation in Gaza has deteriorated significantly, with the death toll continuing to rise. As of last week, the number of deaths exceeded 69,000, despite a US-brokered ceasefire. The Lancet medical journal reported in January that the actual death toll might be up to 41 per cent higher, with Israeli military data indicating that 83 per cent of those killed are civilians. Recent reports from the Gaza Health Ministry stated that Israeli forces have killed over 242 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

A study published in The Lancet last month estimated that nearly 55,000 Palestinian children under the age of six in Gaza are acutely malnourished. An independent United Nations inquiry concluded in September that “Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Israel denies the charge.

The latest flare-up of the conflict was sparked when the militant group Hamas stormed into Israel, taking around 250 hostages and killing at least 1,139 people on October 7, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, has declared that there will be no Palestinian state. On Monday, the UN Security Council backed a US-led stabilisation plan for Gaza.