Unwritten Lives

"Far above all other hunted whales, his is an unwritten life." Moby Dick

Posts tagged with: Demonstrate Show All

Delete Genocide Tech – Public Meeting Tour

May 23, 2026 by Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Liverpool, Cardiff and London: 15/06/2026 - 17/06/2026 12:00

Delete Genocide Tech – Public Meeting Tour
Image: Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Israel uses AI and surveillance technology in its genocide and apartheid against Palestinians, and the companies developing the tech have contracts here in Britain. Our new Delete Genocide Tech campaign, launching in June, will force complicit tech companies out of the government, local councils, universities and workplaces. Join the public meetings in Liverpool, Cardiff and London to learn more, including how you can get involved! BOOK YOUR TICKETS

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Nakba 78: Land You Have To Kill For Isn't Yours

May 15, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

There is no ceasefire, no justice, no peace, just continued Israeli military occupation of Palestine and escalating genocide in Gaza, Jerusalem, and the occupied West Bank

Nakba 78: Land You Have To Kill For Isn't Yours
Palestine solidarity demonstration, London, 11 November 2023. Photo: Ishtiyaq Shukri.

It has been 78 years since one of the most catastrophic events in modern times: the violent expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The Nakba, or the great catastrophe, is commemorated annually on 15 May. At Nakba 78, there is no ceasefire, no peace, no justice. There is only genocide, continued Israeli military occupation, and increasing conflagration across the region. In addition to the original Palestinian dispossession of 1948, Nakba commemorations also highlight the continued displacement, loss, and statelessness experienced by millions of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), in Palestinian refugee camps across the Middle East, and in the global Palestinian diaspora around the world today.

Ishtiyaq Shukri first travelled to the occupied West Bank in 2005. For twenty years, Palestine has remained a recurring theme in his writing. His work forms part of the vast catalogue of Israeli atrocities, appalling and unchallenged violations of international law, which over decades, have culminated in the genocide currently unfolding in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and the systematic erasure by Israel of Palestinians from the across the OPT.

For Nakba 78, we are republishing his 2005 travel journal, Palestine Journey, along with "...And 1 Can of Sardines", an extract from his novel, I See You, accompanied for the first time by photos from Shukri's personal archive from the time.

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Poem | To the people of the UK: You have voted. Here is what will happen next

May 11, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Poem | To the people of the UK: You have voted. Here is what will happen next
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

With heavy losses for the governing Labour party, and huge gains for the rightwing populist party, Reform UK, the results of last week's local elections on 7 May have reverberated through the UK like an earthquake. Here is what will happen next

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Is Catherine West MP a war criminal?

May 11, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Is Catherine West MP a war criminal?
Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey & Friern Barnet, Haringey, north London. Photo: Catherine West

The Labour MP, Catherine West, has challenged the leadership of Keir Starmer. West, my local MP in the north London constituency of Hornsey and Friern Barnet, has much to answer for the genocide in Gaza.

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Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi on the torture of solitary confinement

May 10, 2026 by Narges Mohammadi

Sentenced to 44 years in prison for her political activism, her family warn she may die in custody soon. In this extract from her writings, smuggled out of prison at immense risk, Mohammadi describes the horror of solitary confinement.

Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi on the torture of solitary confinement
Photo by Georgy Rudakov on Unsplash

Solitary confinement is one of the great unknowns – and once it envelopes you, it fills you with terror and dread. Before my arrest, one of our activities had been protesting the use of solitary confinement against our family members.

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No genocide pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale

May 9, 2026 by ANGA: Art Not Genocide Alliance

No genocide pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale
Image:Art Not Genocide Alliance

In October 2025, after confirmation of Israel’s inclusion in the 61st International Art Exhibition, the Art Not Genocide Alliance began circulating the below letter among participants and workers of the Venice Biennale.

ANGA’s call responds to the appeal issued by Palestinian civil society to challenge the normalisation of Israeli apartheid and occupation within international cultural platforms. In this context, the Venice Biennale cannot be exempt from scrutiny.

The following letter calls on the leadership of the Venice Biennale to exclude Israel from the 2026 exhibition. It has been signed by 236 artists, curators and art workers involved in this year’s Biennale and formally delivered to the President and Board of the Venice Biennale.

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Standards in public office, respecting right to criticise

April 22, 2026 by Haringey Liberal Democrats

Standards in public office, respecting right to criticise
British Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood. Photo: The Guardian/Leon Neal/Getty Images

Dear Home Secretary, We are writing on behalf of constituents in Crouch End, Haringey, who have asked us to raise concerns about remarks you made at a public event recently.

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Calling for a public apology from UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP

April 22, 2026 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Calling for a public apology from UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP
British Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood MP. Photo: UK Parliament, House of Commons

On Monday 20 April Shabana Mahmood told “white liberal” hecklers to “f**k right off”. Under no circumstances is this acceptable. With standards in public life in the UK slipping, community cohesion disintegrating, and democratic procedures eroding, Mahmood must be held to account for her abusive language. I have written to my local north London MP, Catherine West, and local councillors, calling for an apology from the home secretary, because everybody has the right to feel safe.

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London's historic day of multicultural protest against the far right

March 30, 2026 by Unwritten Lives

London's historic day of multicultural protest against the far right
"Together Against The Far Right" rally. Trafalgar Square. Photo: Unwritten Lives

On 28 March 2026, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to march against the far right.

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Together 28 March London

March 25, 2026 by Together Alliance

Together 28 March London
Fill this space. Trafalgar Square, London. Photo: Together Alliance UK

March TOGETHER against the far right. Central London. Saturday 28 March 2026. 12pm to 6pm. Join us!

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Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is a community of people working together for peace, equality, a …

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