Christmas has always been my favourite time of year but with three young children it is without doubt the most magical time in our house.
The Santa visit was booked, the Christmas jumpers were retrieved, and the children’s nativities were getting underway. But despite our usual festive build up there was something different this year – the Christmas magic didn’t land the same way it usually does.
I, like many people across Ireland, had been stopped in my tracks and shaken to the core by the images coming from Gaza. I found myself smiling at my children dancing along to Christmas songs decorating the tree, but in my head I couldn’t stop thinking about the image I’d seen of a lifeless body of a baby after being killed by an Israeli airstrike.
There were several moments like this over the festive period where the most conflicting of emotions came crashing at the same time. Normal routine parenting moments like feeding porridge to our three-year-old took on a new significance as my mind was filled with thoughts of mothers in Gaza unable to give their children the most basic human requirements of safe, clean water to drink.
As our children huddled together in excitement to see Santa, a lump formed in my throat thinking about those children who had cuddled their siblings for the last time. With every moment of Christmas magic a dagger of pain for those in Gaza followed quickly behind. On the surface I motioned through all of the Christmas timetable, but I was preoccupied with how incredibly unfair this world can be and at times the horrors seem impossible to comprehend.
And yet, despite the horrors that we are witnessing I enter 2024 with hope. I started as head of communications with Trócaire in November and saw the very antithesis of those despairing scenes.
My first few weeks in the role exposed me to the very best of humanity. I’ve been on calls with colleagues working with partners to try and get aid to those who need it most in Gaza.
I hear first-hand how Trócaire’s partner Medical Aid for Palestinians, is working against the odds in Gaza to ensure that those injured, many of them children, receive urgent medical care to give them the best chance of survival.
It’s not just Gaza where Trócaire is making an impact – I have had my eyes opened to the most incredible work this organisation is doing in countries like Ukraine, Ethiopia and South Sudan where children are caught up in conflict.
So while it seems like there is no end to the suffering I am in a privileged position to be able to witness and communicate the fact that there are very many wonderful people who have committed their lives to making this world a better place.
But the work of Trócaire would not be possible without the support of the Irish people. For 50 years the Irish people have supported Trócaire and communities it serves. No matter the pressures people are facing here at home they are always willing to turn their compassion into action.
As we start the new year and resolutions are at the fore of our minds it is pertinent to remember that we, as individuals, can make changes which in turn can have a chain reaction around us. Even when sometimes the issues seem far beyond our control we all hold power to bring about change.
Whether it be a small act of kindness, advocating for those who don’t have a voice, or having patience and tolerance for those walking different journeys than ourselves. And while we continue to bear witness to the horrors unfolding in Gaza and elsewhere we must hold on to hope that, through our own individual power to enact change, together we can create a just world.
:: Claire Kelly is head of communications with Trócaire.