To the people of Gaza,

As we approach mid-summer, it’s a busy time of year for farmers here in the United Kingdom. We’re caring for our livestock, planting our vegetables and watching our grain grow; and as we go about our beloved work, we hold you, the people of Gaza, in our minds, and in our hearts.

As farmers who dedicate our lives to feeding our communities, it is with absolute horror and the deepest grief that we see images and read stories of food and aid being withheld, of forced starvation, the destruction of lands and homes, the deliberate targeting of those Palestinian farmers who, against all odds, dare to grow food, and the orchestration of famine being used as a tactic of genocide against you.

As we move through our fields to tend the land, we know that your farmland has been bulldozed, bombed and poisoned. As we harvest early produce, we cannot forget that this year, like the last, Gaza will bring in no harvest. As we return to our homes and to our loved ones at the end of our working day, we remember that homes in Gaza have been razed to the ground, and countless loved ones taken from you. As we look to the skies for rain to nourish our crops, we know that you look to the skies in terror. 

When we harvest, we dream of sharing it with you. 

Without your freedom, we know our fruits are seedless.

Palestinian culture is renowned for its beautiful farming and land-based systems, its traditional recipes, its celebration of food and community, and its boundless generosity. As people of the land ourselves, we are moved by your resilience, your spirit, your unbreakable connection to the land, and your steadfastness against all odds. 

In a gesture of solidarity and love, we write this letter to you. To let you know that we see you and, and what is being done to you, and that we are calling for justice. We are uniting to demand an end to the starvation forced upon you. We will not stand by in the complicity of silence.

We are calling on our UK government to:

• Call for the immediate, unconditional and permanent lifting of the blockade of aid into Gaza, to allow in enough food to meet the scale of need

• Publicly commit to joining the humanitarian convoy by dispatching official diplomatic missions to accompany the aid trucks into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing

• Immediately suspend UK arms sales to Israel

• Demand a full and unconditional ceasefire 

We make these demands with full acknowledgement of the role our own government continues to have in your suffering and in this genocide. But history shows us that change happens through collective action, by the people, and in solidarity with each other. 

We, the farmers, landworkers and food producers of the United Kingdom, are adding our voice to the millions worldwide who are calling for your liberation.

We will not let our shattered hearts stop us from acting in solidarity with you. We will not let them heal until you are free.