Let's go fly a kite

I took this snap in a hurry as I walked past, so it's not quite framed right, but I love the action and excitement in it, and I can still hear the children laughing as they chase the tails of the kite.

Kites have taken on a new significance as a symbol of hope for me since 2010, when I organised a photographic exhibition in Dublin called 'Defending Hope in Gaza' for Front Line Defenders. The final photograph intended to finish the exhibition on a tentatively hopeful note, since the photos before it were of great suffering and destruction. It showed thousands of kites flying in the Gaza sky.

The previous summer, in 2009, UNRWA had organised a successful bid to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the most kites flown at one time. It was part of the UNRWA Summer Games, which are held for children every year.

UNRWA's Gaza Director at the time John Ging, an Irishman of whom I am immensely proud, said: "The symbolism of thousands of children, in the world's most locked-up communities, creating beautiful kites, letting them soar upward, is beautiful [...It's] an expression of the demand for liberty."

A 9-year-old boy named Mohammed, who participated, was quoted as saying: "I am so happy today, I never felt so happy. My kite was the highest in the sky."

Just Google 'gaza unrwa kites world record' to see some truly breathtaking images of the event.