Video of little girl reciting pro-Gaza poem in Cork goes viral with 6m views

A poem recorded at a recent pro-Palestine march in Cork city has gone viral worldwide – with 6.3 million people viewing the clip after it was shared by a top US activist.

Rebel photographer and activist Hilary Quinn – who posts online as Cork Streets – filmed seven-year-old Journey as she recited a poem written by her mother, musician Dizziray. The poem, which you can see Journey recite below, is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people:

The poem references the Palestinian keffiyeh, a type of scarf that has become synonymous with pro-Palestinian protest and activism. Journey wears a keffiyeh in the video, fashioned into a skirt by her mother.

The video was shared online by Hilary – and it was then boosted into the global spotlight when it was shared by activist Alana Hadid, older sister to A-list fashion models Gigi and Bella Hadid.

Hilary told CorkBeo that she was “so surprised” by the response to the clip: “My phone was going crazy. And now the video’s been translated into three languages. Arabic, French and Indonesian – and maybe more!”

Hilary added that she was grateful to see the clip shared by someone as high-profile as Alana: “Alana and I actually connected last year when I organised a vigil to mark one year of the genocide in Gaza.

“She had seen a previous video of mine about life in the occupied West Bank. She has an Irish mum and a Palestinian dad, and she messaged me to say she’s very proud of her heritage.”

Hilary and 90-year-old protestor Eric
(Image: Hilary Quinn)

The poem was recorded at one of the weekly marches through Cork city organised by the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, where Hilary often takes photographs and records videos. Saturday, January 10 will be the 66th such march on Leeside.

Hilary said: “At one march I met a 90-year-old man called Eric. I walked next to him and by the time we got to Oliver Plunkett Street, he was getting out of breath.”

Nevertheless, Eric wanted to push on and complete the full circuit of the city. Hilary shared a video of Eric online – and said that he earned the affectionate nickname ‘Papa Eric’ from viewers across the globe. You can see Eric below:

Of the weekly marches in Cork Hilary said: “The main reason I’m documenting these things is that it’s an honour for me, when you look at the people who go to these protests: healthcare workers, children.

“There’s such humanity in the people coming out every week. For 66 weeks now. Of course, we wanted concrete results before the general election – like the Occupied Territories Bill and the recognition of Palestine.

“But the marches have changed minds. I spoke to one woman who said she was reassessing her entire life because of this.

“I’m so proud of all the activists in Cork.”

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/video-little-girl-reciting-pro-30755007