What are twelve people with Palestinian flags doing in the dark at Castricum station at exactly 5:30 PM? Loes, one of the organizers, explains: “In recent months we have always gone to demonstrations in large cities such as Amsterdam and The Hague. In November we said to each other: why don’t we demonstrate in our own village?”
Together with Lucas she started CastricumforPalestine and today they are standing in front of the station for the second time with flags, loudspeakers and protest signs. The place and time seemed logical to them in a small village like Castricum: “During rush hour at the station you see the most people in a short time.”
Sit-ins at stations
“Protesting makes sense, also here,” Lucas emphasizes. “It helps with my own feeling of powerlessness, but I also believe that we can make a difference.”
Castricum is not the only place in North Holland where protests are organized. Groups organize so-called sit-ins throughout the province, often at stations. This is also the case in Zaandam, where Mar demonstrates for an hour every Thursday with his organization ZaankantersforPalestine. He is in Castricum today to participate in the protest.
Not everyone agreed with the protesters. One man accused the group of supporting Hamas and called for the hostages to be freed. “Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas. There is no genocide here.” He was kept away from the group by enforcement.