Stories of Hope
Doing Hope in... the UK

Words: 
Katie Hagley, Meg Williams & Nick Welsh

Main image above:
Shabaka Hutchings at Union Chapel on 18th April 2024 as part of Amos Trust’s Sumud fundraising gig. Photograph: Mark Kensett 
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At Amos Trust, ‘We do Hope’. Our monthly Stories of Hope blog post and email normally celebrates our partners around the world. But this month, we would like to celebrate all of you, our supporters, who, over the last 6 months, have been amazing at coming together to speak out, march and raise funds for our emergency appeal for Gaza and the West Bank. 

Together, we are ‘doing hope’ and turning solidarity into a verb.

The Mount Ventoux Challenge  

Let’s start with 82-year-old Anne Jones in London, who is about to do something pretty spectacular. Last summer, Anne and Amos’ Chris Rose were cycling the hilly lanes of South Wales as part of the Big Ride for Palestine, which unites cyclists from around the UK in solidarity with Palestinians. Anne turned to Chris and said, “Do you ever cycle in France? I have a dream of cycling up Mont Ventoux.” That was it — a plan was hatched to cycle ‘the beast of Provence’ together. 

“Do you ever cycle in France?” Anne Jones and Amos Trust’s Meg Williams getting ready for the Mount Ventoux Challenge this May. Photograph: Noel Williams
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Anne says:
“This May, I am cycling up the mighty Mount Ventoux, ‘the beast of Provence’, because the suffering of the children and their families in Gaza is too terrible to witness. 

It’s a 20.8km uphill bike ride with 1,594 vertical metres of climbing at an average gradient of 7.5%. The last 5 kilometres are above the tree line and very blowy. In fact, Ventoux means ‘windy’, and the powerful mistral of southern France beats this area up to 130 days a year. 

It might sound quite mad to do this at 82, but I am very lucky to be blessed with good health and strength, and I would rather use my time this way than wring my hands in despair and anguish.  

I want to raise a minimum of £100 for each of the 82 years of my life for Amos Trust and for Gaza. That would be unbelievable. I am raising funds for Amos Trust’s partners in Gaza: the Al Ahli ‘Baptist’ Hospital, a youth trauma programme and the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling team, which is now distributing aid to its communities on bikes.” 

You can read more about the ride and how you can support Anne here. However, Anne is not the only one who has been moved to action to support Palestinians in recent months. From Manchester to Melbourne, many more of you have chosen to support Gaza in other sponsored activities like running marathons, birdwatching and even arctic expeditions! 

I want to raise a minimum of £100 for each of the 82 years of my life for Amos Trust and for Gaza. That would be unbelievable. Anne Jones

Yet more of you have put on a whole host of fundraising events, from poetry nights and concerts (there has been many a ‘Gig For Gaza’) to street parties, yoga sessions, raffles, auctions and fundraising dinners. Over the last few months, we have seen time and time again how important the celebration of Palestinian culture has been through art, food and music.

As Mahmoud Muna, the bookseller of Jerusalem said during one of our webinars, “Where politics has been the tool for Israel to divide us, culture has been our tool of uniting ourselves... and that’s why it’s really important for the solidarity of our friends to understand that…it has become a way of resilience and looking inward, like putting on a nice warm jacket. Keep participating and celebrating the cultural element of the Palestinians.”  

“Culture has been our tool of uniting ourselves.” Mahmoud Muna, the bookseller of Jerusalem. 
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Making a good noise

And then, of course, there are the marches. So many of you are out there week in, week out, marching all over the UK and calling for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.  

In November 2023 and March 2024, we were thrilled when so many of you joined thousands of people in over 30 countries taking part in our two Run The Wall events, running on your own or in groups, sharing photos and messages of support, raising funds and awareness.

Running the Wall: Runners from the UK, Dubai and Bethlehem taking part in Amos Trust’s Run The Wall in March 2024. 
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We know that when our partners and friends in Palestine see you running the wall, raising your voices at the marches and they see the footage on the news, it truly brings them hope. As Said and Elias from Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem said, when they visited us at Christmas, it lets them know they are not forgotten and are not alone.

And then, of course, there are the marches. So many of you are out there week in, week out, marching all over the UK and calling for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.

Despite the absolute failings of our leaders, there is no doubt among Palestinians that there are millions of people in the UK who desperately want to see justice for them.

Sumud

Last week, we organised probably the largest event in our history, when artists from Palestine and the UK joined us at the Union Chapel in Islington, London, for Sumud, a fundraising event for our Gaza appeal.

Mogwai, Nadine Shah, Foy Vance, Shabaka Hutchings, Adnan Joubran, Alabaster DePlume and Beth Rowley performed, while Brian Eno, Maxine Peake, David Holmes, Ahmed Masound, Ahmed Alnaouq and Ambassador Husam Zomlot spoke.

Sumud: The Union Chapel in April 2024 in London. From the top: Mogwai, Foy Vance, Brian Eno, Maxine Peake and Ahmed Masoud. 
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It was a great event that highlighted how creativity, which lies at the very heart of Amos, can be used to inspire, tell stories and move us to take action. All the contributors gave their time for free which meant that we raised almost £20,000 for our work in Palestine.

Don’t Look Away

We know that as the world starts to look away and move on, you will keep marching, writing to your MPs, organising events and raising awareness. We know many of you were there before 7th October 2023 and that you will continue to use your voices to call for justice for Palestinians and that you will keep going until Palestine is free — as will we. 

So thank you all for ‘doing’ hope with us. If you would like to find out what you can do to raise funds and awareness about the situation in Palestine, please contact [email protected] 

Read more about how you can support us.
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