As the death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 28,000, one Victorian has taken it upon herself to organize a silent vigil in protest of the ongoing death of innocent people in Palestine.
This Wednesday, February 14th, a silent vigil will be held at the BC legislature. This vigil’s organizer, BJ Porter says that she organized this event because as this death continues, she feels powerless.
Aside from going to most of the weekly rallies that call for a Canadian endorsed ceasefire and for Canada to stop selling weapons to Israel, she did not know how she could contribute to change.
Porter told Victoria Buzz that because she practices meditation frequently, she thought that people might be interested in joining her for an organized silent vigil on the front lawn of the legislature.
“When the bombardment started, I had been so preoccupied and I just felt like I had to do something,” said Porter.
“I imagined myself sitting on the steps of the legislature till death but that seemed like grandstanding and not very effective, so I decided that perhaps some kind of concerted communal event might be better.”
At the vigil, there will be no speakers. Porter simply wants for people to be able to come together and sit in silence for two hours and one minute, or 121 minutes.
This number is significant because on February 14th, it will have been over 121 days since the initial October 7th attack Hamas conducted on Israeli citizens in which over 1,200 died and more than 240 hostages were taken.
Just hours after the Hamas attack, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) began bombing Gaza and killing Palestinian civilians.
She also explained that two hours is a very long time for even seasoned meditators, so two hours and one minute will be challenging for herself and those who choose to go to the vigil.
Porter says that she has been following the Palestinian cause for some time before October 7th.
It began for her after she saw a video which showed an act of cruelty being carried out by an IDF soldier which moved her.
“I saw a video that was taken from a second floor balcony of a couple of IDF soldiers cradling their machine guns,” Porter explained.
“They picked up a little green bicycle with training wheels and were walking down the street with it, with a little boy toddling behind them.”
“They threw it in a dumpster and that was the moment that I became very passionate, even though it feels like nothing in the face of what’s happening now,” she continued.
She says that there are several misconceptions about the Middle Eastern conflict and hopes that people can put those things aside and put in effort to educate themselves about the circumstances surrounding this conflict.
Porter noted that just because she and others have been trying to advocate for peace in Palestine, doesn’t mean that they don’t care about the Israeli hostages who have yet to be released.
She also spoke about the utter brutality of the October 7th Hamas attack and how the general narrative at the rallies and at this vigil, is in no way condoning what took place that day.
Lastly, Porter said that anti-Semitism is not being condoned at these events. People are upset with the Israeli government’s actions, not the Jewish people as a whole.
When sending out information on this vigil she plans on holding, Porter said she received one response from someone who had some of these preconceived notions, although they were thoughtful and mindful when writing to her.
“If you’re looking through the lens that sees back as far as 1948, you’re going to feel very differently than when you look through a lens that only looks back as far as October 7th,” Porter said regarding the email.
This event is intended to be a peaceful one although she has been communicating with VicPD who will be on site to ensure no one is aggressive with those who choose to be there.
It may be cold so Porter suggests those who would like to sit with her should dress warmly, bring a hot beverage and bring a chair if need be.
The two hours and one minute of silence will begin at 7 p.m. sharp.
