Virgin Islanders of Palestinian descent — along with relatives, friends, and neighbors — took to the Charlotte Amalie Waterfront on Saturday in a march for peace. More than 100 marchers waved flags and carried signs calling on the U.S. government to demand a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Marchers assembled in the parking lot behind Emille Griffith Ballpark on Veterans Drive. They were young and old, some hailed from different countries along with those born here. Some were merchants, some were youths. Teachers showed up in support along with clergy of different faiths. Mothers and grandmothers pushed strollers up the route to the rallying point near the Alexander Farrelly Justice Complex.
Justice was what they came for, marchers said. Others said they came to join the call for peace or to show support for family members living in the West Bank as the war between Israel and leaders of the militant group Hamas continues.
A young man named Mushen — born on St. Thomas to a family with a store at Market Square — said he speaks to relatives in the West Bank by phone daily.
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been living in harsh and dangerous conditions since a group of Hamas fighters invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,400 people. Those living in the West Bank are struggling with dwindling supplies of food, water, medical supplies, and fuel as the conflict wages.
About 9,000 civilians have died in Gaza during the current conflict, according to health ministry officials there.
But Mushen said his relatives have shared stories about anti-war protests taking place in the West Bank every other day since a supply blockade and the air strikes began in Gaza. Some of those protests, he said, have led to clashes with Israeli police.
Also at the march’s starting point, Iman Bazzar appeared wearing a white head tie with the black criss-cross pattern often worn by the late Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat. Bazzar said she too has deep roots in the territory and has been teaching at Ulla Muller Elementary School for more than 20 years.
Two placard-holding men from the Dominican Republic spoke little English, but enough to say they also came to support protestors. Retired educator and historian Liba Ola-Niy joined the gathering in the parking lot, greeting an acquaintance.
The march left the parking lot, heading east along Veterans Drive with a police escort. They marched and chanted as westbound traffic whizzed by.
“Hey-hey, ho-ho, the occupation’s gotta go,” they said. Chants of “long live Palestine” rang out along the route. Taxi drivers, pedestrians, and the vendor of an ice cream truck whipped out their smartphones to capture the moment.
Pedestrians stopped in mid-stride to watch the parade; some motorists honked their horns. Late lunchers at the Greenhouse looked up from their plates.
St. Thomas radio talk show caller Norman Issacs paused at the corner of Vendors Plaza to watch a while. “They’ve got a right,” he said.
One woman near the bus stop at the Fort Christian Parking Lot took in the scene. When she was asked what she thought about the march, she turned the question around.
“I’ve got six nephews in this thing,” she said, “their father is there in the march.”
