Cadfa press release 23rd June 2025
We worked so hard for this and now we can’t come 🙁
Disappointed letters from young Palestinians, following the delay to CADFA’s youth visit to Britain in July.
We had a brilliant programme set up with meetings and activities planned for the young people all over Wales and London- We are so sad not to run it and we hope to do so later in the year
Organiser of CADFA’s Beyond the Checkpoints youth visit
We really wanted to have them here, both for their own sake and because people in the UK learn so much from these amazing visits. These visits build energy and nurture hope even when things are so grim.
Cadfa visit organiser from London
There is a huge pool of people now who see what is happening to the Palestinians and want to help in any way they can. There is so much excitement at having a group of Palestinians visiting this area
Visit organiser from rural Wales
These creative projects are wonderful in themselves and the children from both countries both learn and enjoy so much. As a human rights charity we also run these visits as they interest people in the human rights situation in Palestine and encourage them to be active in challenging the terrible situation these children live in, and to work for human rights.
CADFA Director
Human rights charity CADFA – working with partners across the country – has been planning a special youth exchange to bring 8 young people and 3 leaders from the West Bank and Jerusalem to the UK arriving at the end of June and staying two weeks into July.
The money for the visit was raised through the enthusiastic efforts of hundreds of people, through small events and one small grant and also through the ongoing fundraising of CADFA which has been organising visits between Britain and Palestine for over twenty years.
Young people in youth clubs and schools in rural Wales, towns and cities in south Wales and several boroughs of London were looking forward to meeting the visitors. Community organisations had been fundraising for months, and were looking forward to reaching new people across their communities through the project activities. UK visas had come through -despite the difficulties- and air tickets had been bought.
But in the light of the broadening hostilities in the Middle East, with rockets whizzing across their skies at home (watched from the roof tops as Palestinians have no air-raid shelters) and air companies cancelling flights, now is, sadly, not the time.
The young Palestinians’ sad letters have had an effect however. Organising groups are discussing ways to encourage the young people by linking to them on Zoom or (UK youth groups) making them pictures or messages. And if it can possibly be done, CADFA will run the visit in the early autumn when schools are back.
The organisers in the following places would like to thank their local communities for all their help so far and encourage them to look out for news of the rescheduled visit:
Camden, Islington, Hackney, Ilford, Newport, Cardiff, RCT, Chester, South Shropshire, Mid Wales (old Radnorshire) and Machynlleth.
More info from Cadfa.org / contact@Cadfa.org