Giant ribbons and tangled politics

Why does unfurling an enormous yellow ribbon in a British seaside city matter to a distant war and far away geopolitics

Last week I stitched together 60 metres of yellow satin fabric and painstakingly wound it around a cardboard roll reinforced with bamboo sticks from the garden. I often find myself engaged in these odd activities since my husband’s cousin Tsachi was kidnapped to Gaza. I am not a politician. Nor a military expert. But I know how to campaign. And sew.

Those endless reams of satin were carried by my husband Adam to the seafront in Hove. To the green grass of the lawns where children play football, dogs sniff and explore, and families picnic. When we arrived a class of older women were doing Zumba in the heat led by a Spanish instructor. Everything was ordinary except for us and our giant roll of fabric. Since the Hamas attacks I have felt dislocated from normal, just a few steps out of time and space with those around me. Both here and there. In peace and war. 

Adam heaved his burden to the grass and we awaited our companions in this liminal space between worlds. When they arrived it became less lonely there and our purpose less strange. We were to film our feat from the air and with the flying camera ready, the fabric was unfurled. As the drone rose, the satin opened. A giant yellow ribbon birthed through the labour of those who could do little else to help free our hostages. The wind threatened to ruin our creation so we dashed to add stones to save it. A young boy perhaps, 12 years old, stopped to enter for a moment into our strange world. 

He asked if the ribbon was a “slippy slide”. I honestly have no idea what that is but his child interpretation was a balm. I hesitated to tell him what it really was. Both to protect his innocence and to save me from potential abuse. I said “it’s a giant ribbon.. for the hostages.” I paused, uncertain how far into the darkness we could go. He solved my dilemma, “the ones in Gaza?” I was surprised he knew about them with so little coverage of late. I replied yes and we were trying to get them home. He said he didn’t like they were there and ended our encounter with “I respect that” nodding toward the ribbon. 

Something deep inside me relaxed. Tears threatened. The boy took a photo and left my world. Popped back out of the bubble of my existence.

An Israeli woman, a Jewish couple, and a random man all gave us positive comments after that. Mostly, we were so intently focused on our creation that passers-by passed us by. Eventually the drone ran out of battery and we reversed the unfurling, as though the ribbon never was. Dogs returned to sniff and boys with footballs refilled the grassy void. 

Once I got home and reviewed the footage, the dramatic scale of that temporary world we created revealed itself. In that space we had quietly manifested the intensity of our own feelings. The giant ribbon represented the immensity of our pain and anxiety alongside our profound wishes and hopes. We are in the UK, not Israel, not Gaza. So what did we actually achieve? 

That boy who said he didn’t like what happened to the hostages. The Jewish couple who were comforted to see such a visible symbol of compassion on their seaside promenade. The Israeli woman who felt people cared. 

But there was a wider purpose. We may not be able to influence global politics yet we can affect our local and national situation. Pressure is intensely applied by pro-Palestinian campaigners to push the government to criticise Israel. That job is done. Yet none is applied to influence Hamas. In the UK’s sphere that can be achieved through Qatar. The UK and Qatar are fruitful trading partners. In 2022, Qatar was the largest beneficiary for arms export licenses in the UK at £2.7 billion. In contrast, given all the fuss and focus, arms exports to Israel were only £43 million. Qatar receives over 6000% more British arms than Israel does. It has an atrocious human rights record. Homosexuality and pre-marital sex are illegal and migrant workers suffer severe repression.  

The UK also imports 9% of its gas from Qatar. The Shard, Harrods and Canary Wharf are all owned by Qatar and ironically it has major shareholding in Barclays Bank which has been a target of a pro-Palestinian boycott. The relationship is long, strong and growing. David Lammy could use this as both a carrot and a stick to push Qatar to apply pressure on Hamas who it hosts and finances generously. Yet all the loudest voices are about Israel. It’s fair to push the government there to agree to a deal but it can’t make sense to only shove in one direction. 

So we carry on. We plan our next action. We hope for more like that boy who gave us respect. And a nod.