THE Conway Mill will host a talk on Friday organised by the London-based Palestinian Return Centre (PRC).

PRC are hosting a speaker tour across Ireland entitled 'The Shared Struggle: Ireland & Palestine', to commemorate both the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the upcoming anniversary of Land Day and to honour the long standing solidarity between the Irish and Palestinian people.

PRC will be hosting three speaker events, where audiences will hear from youth activist and journalist, Janna Jihad from Nabi Saleh, Palestine. 

The tour will begin in Conway Mill and Friday 25 March from 6:30pm-8:00pm before heading to the Cornmill in Coalisland and Sunday 27 March from 7:00pm. 

The Palestinian Return Centre was created in London in 1996, by a small group of Palestinian refugees hoping to return to Palestine in their lifetimes. The centre was created with the intention to defiantly advocate for Palestinian refugees all around the world, in accordance with the historical, political, and legal basis of the right to return.

Speaking ahead of the event, Farrah Koutteineh from the Palestinian Return Centre said: "The world’s largest refugee population in 2022 is the Palestinian refugee population. At a staggering 7.2 million, Palestinian refugees do not only make up the world’s largest refugee population but are also simultaneously the world’s longest waiting refugee community, due to Israel denying them their legal right of return in defiance of international law.

"Recently the Palestinian Return Centre was granted consultative status at the United Nations, despite Israel and the United States voting against it, and are working to submit resolutions to finally physically grant Palestinian refugees their long awaited, right of return."

Farrah said that The Palestinian Return Centre has long respected and drawn inspiration from the Irish struggle against British colonialism, imperialism and occupation.

"The stark parallels between both the Irish and the Palestinian struggle are what connects both peoples in such an intrinsically powerful bond. Whether it is Bobby Sands or Marwan Barghouthi hunger striking, we unconditionally support them as if it were our own hunger striker," he continued. 

"Whether it is Bernadette McAliskey slapping a Tory Home Secretary attempting to distort the barbaric British role in Bloody Sunday, or whether it is Ahed Tamimi slapping an Israeli soldier illegally occupying her land, both slaps echo equally as loud in the hearts of both the Irish and Palestinian people’s, with mutual indignation at the shared struggle both people’s are still facing.

"The Palestinian Return Centre is honoured to be hosting ‘The Shared Struggle: Ireland & Palestine’ Tour, to amplify the long standing solidarity between the Irish and Palestinian people. As the Palestinian Return Centre firmly believes in and advocates the power of international solidarity, as we will not see a free Palestine before we see a united Ireland."