Belfast

Soso And Omar Ashour

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Siblings Soso and Omar Ashour were brought to a Gaza hospital in the first week of the Israeli attack. Artist Raed Yousef Qatanani (ig) took them as subjects (ig photo | ig video of the pair) for a painting which has in turn been reproduced on the International Wall in west Belfast as part of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb).

The next mural (to the right) can be seen in Out Of The Ashes Of 1948.

January 26th:

January 20th:

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The Land Is Ours

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The first (left-most) mural of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb) reproduces a piece that once stood in a Gaza school, called The Land Is Ours, by Mohammed Alhaj, Abdullah Al Najar, Rami Al Safadi, and Abdel Hamid Fares. It shows a human figure holding a Palestinian flag that wraps around an olive tree and the Dome Of The Rock temple in Jerusalem.

The next mural in the PforP project can be seen in Another Martyr In The Earth.

January 20th:

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Loyal People’s Protest

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“Since 2012” and lasting until the undetermined year “XXXX”. Protests against the restricted flying of the Union Flag at City Hall were held on a daily basis in the winter of 2012-2013 after the Council’s vote on December 3rd. It became a weekly protest perhaps in the spring and a group of die-hards continues to meet each Saturday. There does not seem to be a functioning public social media channel for “Loyal People’s Protest”; the numbers might be small enough that a private group chat is sufficient. The male in the top right of the placard is unknown; there have previously been media profiles of Billy and Ann Dickson (Belfast Live).

For background links, see Union Jack – Donegall Pass.

Previously from the railings: Eddie Supports The Flag. A tarp from earlier protests: British And Proud.

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Peace Is The Greatest Victory

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Normally the tourists’ graffiti on the Cupar Way “peace” wall amounts to “Patronising Slogans” but the Hamas-Israel conflict has brought international politics to the wall, with the Star Of David being replaced by a swastika and “Stop genocide in Gaza” in the same hand. There is a march at 1 p.m. today from Writers’ Square to the city hall, organised by the IPSC (Fb), .

The sticker on top of the swastika can be seen in Saoırse Don Phalaıstín.

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Let Your Hopes Bloom As The Cactus Blooms

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Heba Zagout (ig) was a Palestinian artist and teacher who painted Palestinian women and scenes from everyday life, including one from 2022 of holiday fireworks over a Bethlehem skyline that includes both churches and mosques. (You can see the original acrylic on the Painting For Palestine facebook page). The painting has now been reproduced as a mural on the International Wall in CNR west Belfast. She and two of her children, Adam and Mahmoud, were killed in October in an Israeli air strike on Gaza. (Middle East Eye | Guardian)

The next mural (to the right) can be seen in Broken Family.

The image above is from February 7th. January 29th:

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How Many Kids?

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This mural of (Israeli) soldiers standing over the bodies of dead children is based on an original by Saïd Hassan (ig).

It is on the International Wall, west Belfast, and part of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb). The next mural (to the right) can be seen in The International Court Of Justice.

Previously, from 2015: Graffiti in Cliftonville: “Israel, USA – how many kids have you killed to-day[?]”

The image above is from February 11th. In-progress images are as dated below.

January 29th:

January 26th:

January 20th:

January 14th:

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Road Rage Ruth

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Here are a few pieces from the so-called “peace” line dividing CNR and PUL west Belfast, featuring, above, ‘Road rage Ruth’ by Kilian (ig). Previously by Kilian on the “peace” line: The Brain Is Wider Than The Sky. See also the works done for HTN23, HTN22, and HTN21.

For wild-style from December (2023) see Bombing The “Peace” Line. For ten or so pieces of street art and wild-style writing on the wall from May 2023, see Ready To Rumble.

The obscured piece by Bust and the “World Wall Stylers” tag can be seen in better condition in New Levels, Same Devils (2022). “Ríoghnach” is an Irish-language name.

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Justice For Ian Ogle

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Two men were given life sentences on Thursday for the murder of Ian Ogle in 2019, pleading guilty but on the basis of intent to cause serious harm rather than to kill. The trial of three others on a murder charge will begin on Tuesday (iTV | BBC).

Ogle lived in Cluan Place in east Belfast, site of these stickers and many other tarps and posters since his death. See previously: (2020) Justice For Ian Ogle | (2021) The Leaders Of This People Cause Them To Err | Remember Your Own | (2022) For His Family | What Fire Does Not Destroy It Hardens

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Protect Our Children

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“No illegal immigration – protect our children.” The January Fact Sheet from gov.uk on 2023’s measures against illegal migration includes a “Small Boats Operational Command” with a staff of 500 people to tackle “illegal migration by small boats”. Summary statistics for small-boat arrivals can be found on WP. Stopping the boats was one of the government’s “five key priorities” in March, 2023 (Reuters) and included in the Bill approved in July (gov.uk). The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in November (Reuters).

This small sticker on the Mersey Street street-sign is in east Belfast. The source of the need to “protect children” is unknown; the attacker outside Gaelscoıl Choláıste Mhuıre in Dublin in November was originally from Algeria (it is not known how he arrived) and a naturalised Irish citizen since 2014 (WP).

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