From Santiago, the capital of Chile, a unique mural adorns the city walls stands out, loaded with powerful messages of freedom and solidarity.
This masterpiece is the result of an unconventional collaboration between children from Gaza and children from Chile, where artists and teachers from both sides came together to create a project that expresses hope and communication between two geographically distant cultures.
The idea started at the initiative of the plastic artist Ian Pierce, where Palestinian children sent pictures and messages expressing their dreams, such as becoming doctors or living in freedom, while Chilean children translated these dreams into drawings adorning the mural
Pearce described the project as more than just art, saying, “This is not just to keep children busy, it’s a form of resistance against the occupation. We need solidarity and spiritual support as much as we need food and medicine,”he said.
And on the mural, a girl is shown holding an empty cage while birds fly overhead, referring to freedom and hope. Teacher Ana Maria Osorio, who supervised the participation of Chilean children, commented that this project carries a clear message about peace and freedom, noting that the children here were deeply affected by what the children of Gaza are experiencing.
It is worth noting that this project comes in light of the tragic events witnessed in Gaza, where more than 45,000 people were killed in the Israeli bombing and invasion that began in October 2023, including women and children. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, these operations have caused widespread destruction and the displacement of about 90% of the Gaza Strip’s population.
Pierce hopes that this experiment will serve as a model that can be replicated in other places around the world. “Our message is that the governments of the world have failed, and we hope that this initiative will inspire the educational and artistic communities,”he said.
While the dream of the children of Gaza is embodied on the walls of Santiago, the most important message remains that human solidarity can transcend borders and bring hope for a more just world.
