Join AFSC on Saturday, March 30 to honor the tradition of flying kites in Gaza and the powerful poem from the late Palestinian Professor of literature in Gaza, Refaat Alareer, AFSC will host a Kites for Gaza event at the Blossom Kite Festival in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, March 30. If you’re not in the area, you can also take part in the day by flying a kite in your community and sharing on social media.
Learn more about Kites for Gaza
Kite flying in Gaza has been a tradition for children and a symbol of hope and resilience for decades. In 2011, more than 12,000 children in Gaza flew kites on the beach, setting a new world record for the most kites flown simultaneously. Devastatingly, more children have been killed in the first five months of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza than the number who flew kites in 2011.
Many around the world have connected with the poem “If I Must Die” by Professor Alareer, where he writes about a white kite with a long tail. At the end of the poem, he writes, “If I must die / let it bring hope / let it be a tale.” Among the many kites we will fly at the festival, we will fly 44 white kites, representing Professor Alareer’s age when he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.
It's also significant that the National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual celebration of the spring blooming of thousands of cherry trees in D.C., a 1912 gift from then Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki. The Kites for Gaza event recognizes and honors the solidarity that the people of Japan have shown for Palestinians in Gaza over the past five months. Many cities have released cease-fire resolutions and community members in Hiroshima have held candlelight vigils every night. Here are more details to join us
If you are in the D.C. area, join us on March 30 at the Blossom Kite Festival in Washington, D.C. You can find AFSC between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 17th St. & Constitution Ave. SE (near the Washington Monument) to fly kites.
We will have a limited number of kites for participants. You can also build kites with Friends Place that morning. Register for the Friends Place event here. (between 9:00 - 11:00 AM - please register by March 28)
You will also have the opportunity to engage with our art installation, made by local D.C. artists, inspired by Professor Alareer's poem. Kids can also craft their own Birds of Gaza and write letters to legislators.
If you are not in the D.C. area, we invite you to make and fly kites in your own communities to show your solidarity with the people of Gaza. Be sure to tag AFSC on Facebook, X, Instagram, or TikTok and use the hashtag #KitesforGaza in your posts. (20+) Facebook / (2) AFSC (@afsc_org) / X (twitter.com) / American Friends Service Cmte (@afsc_org) • Instagram photos and videos
Kites of all kinds are welcome, whether they are meant to fly or if they are part of an art installation. See this guide for building kites.
We look forward to joining with you on March 30! As you fly your kite, let it symbolize the interminable hope and resilience that the people of Gaza have demonstrated to us. In solidarity, Jennifer, Noor, and Zoe
US Palestine Activism Program, AFSC