LAHORE: As the world marked the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on September 21, two young siblings from Pakistan—Ubaydah Al Fiddhah Hafiah (11) and Ghulam Bishar Hafi (13)—dedicated their campaign to the children of Gaza, offering a rare and deeply moving perspective on peace and justice.
For the past 15 months, the siblings have run a campaign of writing resolutions to the United Nations in their own blood, accompanied by protest notes and open letters urging the global community to break its silence over the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine. Their blood-written appeals carried stark and heartrending calls for peace.
Marking this year’s Peace Day, the duo launched a Global Peace Sumud Cavalcade, virtually supplementing the Global Sumud Flotilla—a historic humanitarian mission led by climate activist Greta Thunberg, sailing with more than 70 vessels toward Gaza. Although denied physical participation by Tunisia due to their age, the siblings pledged to remain virtually connected with the flotilla until it delivers humanitarian aid, making theirs the first-ever child-led supplementation of a global peace flotilla.
The siblings’ activism is not new. Their connection with Greta Thunberg dates back to 2020, when she and their father, Prof. Dr. Aurangzeb Hafi, jointly received the Bidecadal Merit Award. Since then, they have earned international recognition, including the UN’s Grace do Monaco Medal and the Eglantyne Jebb Platinum Pen for Peace. Earlier this year, their campaign was officially endorsed by the State of Palestine and praised by its Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Zuhair Zaid, who described them as “symbols of humanity and a ray of hope in the darkness of injustice.”
Their pleas on World Peace Day also echo UNICEF’s alarming reports that more than one million children in Gaza are being systematically denied access to food, water, and lifesaving aid.
