A POWERFUL photographic exhibition by a former Andersonstown News photographer documenting protests in Belfast against the genocide in Gaza has opened in the city centre. Irish News photographer Mal McCann covered the first protest in Belfast on October 8 2023 as Israel pounded civilians in Gaza, 24 hours after the Hamas attack on southern Israel. The exhibition initially premiered at Féile an Phobail last month, however, the award-winning photographer has added recent photographs to the current exhibition. The compelling images in This Is Not A War give voice to the besieged people of Gaza who have endured unimaginable suffering over the past 22 months. It's obvious that the exhibition has been a very personal journey for Mal, who is eager to point out that any donations raised during the exhibition will go towards Gaels Against Genocide who are fundraising for a mobile maternity unit for Gaza. “Obviously, I’ve known about the conflict going on in Palestine from when I was young. I always knew what was happening there," he said. "After October 7th, the next day was the first protest outside the City Hall and I went along, I don’t even think I was working. From then, when things got so bad so quick and seeing the devastation and the buildings being flattened which were full of people, I knew that I had to document anything that was relevant that was happening in my own city and so it just continued on from there and unfortunately, it’s still going on.”
