An international initiative saw people from all over the world swimming with the children of Gaza on Saturday 26 August. In Portugal, the initiative took place that day at Carcavelos Beach, following on from another event promoted by MPPM at Melides Beach on 22 July.
Since 2007, the inhabitants of Gaza have been trapped in an iron blockade. They have no parks, no mountains, no valleys, but they do have the beach, their only free space for leisure. That's why every year, at the end of September, they hold a swimming festival on Gaza Beach.
This year, the Gaza Swimming Carnival was held earlier, on 26 August, to coincide with a major international initiative. The idea came from Paul O'Brian, from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who invited people and organisations all over the world to show solidarity with Palestinian children that day by taking a dip in the sea, a river, or a swimming pool and sharing their videos or photos with them.